Chinese word

睡觉

Pronunciation

Pinyinshuì jiào

Meaning

  • verbsleep

Example

我很困，想去睡觉。wǒ hěn kùn xiǎng qù shuì jiào

I'm very sleepy and want to go to sleep.

Illustration for 睡觉 (sleep)

More examples

我通常十点才睡觉。wǒ tōng cháng shí diǎn cái shuì jiào

I usually don't go to sleep until ten.

Core concept

A period of lowered activity reached by closing the eyes or lying down, allowing the body and mind to recover.

Common phrases

  • 想睡觉xiǎng shuì jiào

    want to go to sleep

  • 晚上睡觉wǎn shàng shuì jiào

    sleep at night

Similar words

睡shuì: Being asleep for a period of rest.
睡着shuì zháo: Falling asleep and entering a sleeping state.
休息xiū xī: Pausing activity to let the body or mind rest and recover.
起床qǐ chuáng: Getting out of bed after sleeping.

Definition in Chinese

身体和意识进入暂时性低活动以休息和恢复的状态，通常通过闭眼或躺下实现。shēn tǐ hé yì shí jìn rù zàn shí xìng dī huó dòng yǐ xiū xī hé huī fù de zhuàng tài tōng cháng tōng guò bì yǎn huò tǎng xià shí xiàn

Word origin

睡觉 (shuìjiào, "sleep") is formed as a compound that connects the act of sleeping with the state of sleep, which gives the verb its broad everyday use.

Usage tips

  • This verb covers both daytime naps and nighttime sleep, with a time expression or context showing which one is meant.

Other meanings

  • go to bedverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word