Chinese word

通宵

Pronunciation

Pinyintōng xiāo

Meaning

  • verbstay up all night

Example

我昨天通宵了，今天很累。wǒ zuó tiān tōng xiāo le jīn tiān hěn lèi

I stayed up all night yesterday, so I'm very tired today.

Illustration for 通宵 (stay up all night)

More examples

为了完成报告，她昨晚通宵加班。wèi le wán chéng bào gào tā zuó wǎn tōng xiāo jiā bān

To finish the report, she worked overtime all night last night.

Core concept

Sleep is skipped while another activity fills the complete span from nightfall to morning.

Common phrases

  • 通宵加班tōng xiāo jiā bān

    work overtime all night

  • 通宵学习tōng xiāo xué xí

    study all night

  • 通宵玩游戏tōng xiāo wán yóu xì

    play games all night

Similar words

彻夜chè yè: Remaining awake for the entire night, often to complete a specific task.
熬夜áo yè: Staying up late and giving up needed sleep, without necessarily staying awake until morning.
晚睡wǎn shuì: Going to bed later than the usual or planned time.
守夜shǒu yè: Staying awake through the night to keep watch or take part in a vigil.

Definition in Chinese

在夜间整晚保持清醒，常用于表示为工作、学习或娱乐连着一整晚不睡。zài yè jiān zhéng wǎn bǎo chí qīng xǐng cháng yòng yú biǎo shì wèi gōng zuò xué xí huò yú lè lián zhe yì zhéng wǎn bú shuì

Word origin

The characters 通 (tōng, "pass through") + 宵 (xiāo, "night") create the image of passing through the night, a natural basis for the word's meaning.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, it can go directly before an activity, so phrases built with it often describe what occupies the night, not just the time of going to bed.

Other meanings

  • all nightadverb
  • all-nighternoun
  • stay up lateverb

Opposites

  • 早睡zǎo shuìgo to bed earlyverb
  • 按时睡觉àn shí shuì jiàogo to bed on timeverb

Related words

  • 通宵达旦tōng xiāo dá dànstay up all night until dawnidiom
  • 通宵营业tōng xiāo yíng yèstay open all nightverb

Word lists with this word