Chinese word

犯困

Pronunciation

Pinyinfàn kùn

Meaning

  • verbget sleepy

Example

上课时我常常犯困。shàng kè shí wǒ cháng cháng fàn kùn

I often get sleepy in class.

Illustration for 犯困 (get sleepy)

More examples

下午我常常犯困，会喝咖啡提神。xià wǔ wǒ cháng cháng fàn kùn huì hē kā fēi tí shén

I often get sleepy in the afternoon, so I drink coffee to stay awake.

Core concept

A temporary pull toward sleep that makes the eyelids heavy and attention fade.

Common phrases

  • 上课犯困shàng kè fàn kùn

    get sleepy in class

  • 下午犯困xià wǔ fàn kùn

    get sleepy in the afternoon

  • 感到犯困gǎn dào fàn kùn

    feel sleepy

Similar words

想睡觉xiǎng shuì jiào: Having the desire to go to sleep.
打瞌睡dǎ kē shuì: Nodding off for a short time while seated.
打盹儿dá dǔnr: Taking a short nap or dozing for a little while.

Definition in Chinese

短时间内感到强烈睡意，眼皮沉重，注意力下降，通常用来表示临时的困倦。duǎn shí jiān nèi gǎn dào qiáng liè shuì yì yǎn pí chén zhòng zhù yì lì xià jiàng tōng cháng yòng lái biǎo shì lín shí de kùn juàn

Word origin

犯 (fàn, "be affected by") + 困 (kùn, "sleepy") presents sleepiness as a state that comes over a person.

Usage tips

  • Adding a degree word such as 有点 (yǒudiǎn, "a little") makes the expression fit mild, everyday drowsiness rather than strong sleepiness.

Other meanings

  • feel drowsyverb
  • sleepyadjective

Opposites

Word lists with this word