Chinese word

打盹儿

Pronunciation

Pinyindǎ dǔnr

Meaning

  • verbtake a nap

Example

午饭后我在办公室里打盹儿。wǔ fàn hòu wǒ zài bàn gōng shì lǐ dá dǔnr

After lunch, I took a nap in the office.

Illustration for 打盹儿 (take a nap)

More examples

他在地铁上打盹儿，差点错过站。tā zài dì tiě shàng dá dǔnr chà diǎn cuò guò zhàn

He dozed on the subway and almost missed his stop.

Core concept

A small pocket of sleep that appears during a pause in an everyday activity and quickly gives way to alertness.

Common phrases

  • 在公交车上打盹儿zài gōng jiāo chē shàng dá dǔnr

    nap on a bus

  • 趴着打盹儿pā zhe dá dǔnr

    nap lying face down

Similar words

打瞌睡dǎ kē shuì: Doze lightly and briefly when feeling sleepy.
小睡xiǎo shuì: Take a short nap as a simple way to rest.
眯一会儿mī yí huìr: Rest for a little while with the eyes closed, possibly falling asleep.
小憩xiǎo qì: Rest briefly to recover from tiredness, sometimes by sleeping.

Definition in Chinese

吃饭、工作等间隙短暂睡着，时间很短且不会进入深睡眠。chī fàn gōng zuò děng jiàn xì duǎn zàn shuì zháo shí jiān hěn duǎn qiě bú huì jìn rù shēn shuì mián

Word origin

打 (dǎ, "to do") + 盹 (dǔn, "doze") forms the main meaning, and 儿 (ér, "r-sound ending") adds a colloquial spoken ending rather than a new kind of sleep.

Usage tips

  • English nap can suggest a planned rest, but this word often describes a short doze that happens between meals, tasks, or other daily activities.

Other meanings

  • dozeverb
  • napnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 盹儿dǔnrnapnoun
  • 打盹dá dǔndozenoun

Word lists with this word