Korean word

불면증

Pronunciation

Romanizationpulmyeonjeung

Meaning

  • nouninsomnia

Example

요새 불면증 때문에 아침까지 잠을 잘 못 잤어요.yo sae pul myeon jeung ttae mu ne a chim kka ji cha meul chal mot cha sseo yo

Lately, I haven't been able to sleep through the night because of insomnia.

Illustration for 불면증 (insomnia)

More examples

요즘 스트레스로 불면증에 시달려 낮에 계속 졸려요.yo jeum seu teu re seu ro pul myeon jeung e si dal lyeo na je kye sok chol lyeo yo

These days, I am suffering from insomnia due to stress, so I feel sleepy all day.

Core concept

A lack of refreshing sleep that causes daytime fatigue and makes concentration harder.

Common phrases

  • 불면증에 시달리다pul myeon jeung e si dal li da

    suffer from insomnia

  • 불면증이 있다pul myeon jeung i it tta

    have insomnia

  • 불면증을 겪다pul myeon jeung eul kyeok tta

    experience insomnia

Similar words

불면pulmyeon: Difficulty sleeping at night, whether briefly or over a longer period.
수면부족sumyeonbujok: A lack of needed sleep that leaves a person sleepy and less alert during the day.
밤샘pamsaem: An entire night spent awake rather than asleep.
수면장애sumyeonjangae: A medical category for symptoms and problems involving sleep.

Definition in Korean

밤에 잠이 오지 않거나 잠을 자도 충분히 회복되지 않아 피로와 집중력 저하가 나타나는 증상을 가리키는 명사pa me cha mi o ji an keo na cha meul cha do chung bun hi hoe bok ttoe ji a na pi ro wa chip jjung nyeok cheo ha ga na ta na neun cheung sang eul ka ri ki neun myeong sa

Word origin

불면증 (bulmyeonjeung, "insomnia") is built from the Sino-Korean parts 불 (bul, "not"), 면 (myeon, "sleep"), and 증 (jeung, "symptom"), giving the sense of a symptom involving insufficient sleep.

Usage tips

  • The word is useful when discussing sleep as a health concern, not only when reporting that sleep was difficult on one particular night.

Opposites

  • 숙면sungmyeonsound sleepnoun
  • 과다수면kwadasumyeonhypersomnianoun

Related words

  • 불면pulmyeonsleeplessnessnoun
  • 불면장애pulmyeonjangaeinsomnia disordernoun

Word lists with this word