Chinese word

失眠

Pronunciation

Pinyinshī mián

Meaning

  • verbhave trouble sleeping

Example

最近我常常失眠。zuì jìn wǒ cháng cháng shī mián

I often have trouble sleeping these days.

Illustration for 失眠 (have trouble sleeping)

More examples

考试前一晚，我因为紧张整夜失眠。kǎo shì qián yì wǎn wǒ yīn wèi jǐn zhāng zhěng yè shī mián

The night before the exam, I had trouble sleeping all night because I was nervous.

Core concept

The usual nighttime rest fails to arrive or fails to refresh the sleeper.

Common phrases

  • 经常失眠jīng cháng shī mián

    often have trouble sleeping

  • 整夜失眠zhěng yè shī mián

    have trouble sleeping all night

Similar words

睡不着shuì bù zhe: Fail to fall asleep even after getting into bed.
睡不好shuì bù hǎo: Have sleep that is too light or broken by waking up.
入睡rù shuì: Enter sleep or start to fall asleep.

Definition in Chinese

不能入睡或睡眠质量很差，无法获得足够的休息。bù néng rù shuì huò shuì mián zhì liàng hěn chà wú fǎ huò dé zú gòu de xiū xī

Word origin

The compound joins 失 (shī, "lose") with 眠 (mián, "sleep"), making lost sleep its central picture.

Usage tips

  • English often makes "insomnia" sound like a medical label, while Chinese uses this word in ordinary talk about a bad night's sleep.

Other meanings

  • insomnianoun
  • unable to fall asleepadjective

Opposites

  • 入睡rù shuìfall asleepverb
  • 安睡ān shuìsleep soundlyverb

Related words

  • 失眠症shī mián zhènginsomnianoun
  • 慢性失眠症màn xìng shī mián zhèngchronic insomnianoun

Word lists with this word