English–Korean

“sleep” in Korean

Korean

Also자다 (chada) · 잠자다 (chamjada) · 주무시다 (chumusida) · 수면 (sumyeon)

Pronunciation

Romanizationcham

Example

어젯밤에는 잠이 잘 오지 않았어요.eo jet ppa me neun cha mi chal o ji a na sseo yo

I couldn't get to sleep last night.

Illustration for 잠 (sleep)

How to say “sleep” in Korean

“Sleep” in Korean is 잠 (cham).

The body and mind become quiet, letting a person rest and move toward sleep.

Full entry for 잠: usage tips, similar words and word origin

Example sentences with 잠

책을 읽다가 어느새 잠에 들었어요.chae geul ik tta ga eo neu sae cha me teu reo sseo yo

While reading a book, I fell asleep before I knew it.

Tips for using 잠

  • Unlike English, which often separates sleep from sleepiness, this word can refer to both the resting state and the feeling that sleep is coming.

Other Korean words for “sleep”

여기서 자도 돼요?yeo gi seo cha do twae yo

Can I sleep here?

오늘은 일찍 잠자려고 해요.o neu reun il jjik cham ja ryeo go hae yo

I'm going to sleep early today.

할머니는 벌써 주무셨어요.hal meo ni neun peol sseo chu mu syeo sseo yo

Grandma has already gone to sleep.

밤에는 수면을 충분히 취해야 한다.pa me neun su myeo neul chung bun hi chwi hae ya han da

At night, you must get enough sleep.

“sleep” in other languages