(jiào) — sleep

Definition

Here 觉 (jiào) is a colloquial way to say "fall asleep" — used after 睡, as in 睡了觉. The common reading jué covers "feel / sense."

verb
sleep

Examples

  • Tā shuì jiào le, bié chǎo xǐng tā.
    He has fallen asleep; don't wake him up.
  • Xiǎo bǎo bao gāng shuì jiào, wǒ men jiù qīng shēng shuō huà ba.
    The baby just fell asleep, so let's speak softly.
  • Měi tiān wǔ fàn hòu tā dōu huì shuì jiào yí huì r.
    After lunch every day he will sleep for a while.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 覺; 觉 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
𦥯
𦥯𦥯jué
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 覺 pairs 見, a part that means see, with 𦥯, a part that gives the sound; simplified 觉 is a later abbreviation.

Grammar

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