Chinese word

醒来

Pronunciation

Pinyinxǐng lái

Meaning

  • verbwake up

Example

听到电话铃声，他就醒来了。tīng dào diàn huà líng shēng tā jiù xǐng lái le

When he heard the phone ring, he woke up.

Illustration for 醒来 (wake up)

More examples

他一觉醒来，发现天已经亮了。tā yí jiào xǐng lái fā xiàn tiān yǐ jīng liàng le

When he woke up, he found that it was already light outside.

Core concept

The return from the quiet darkness of sleep or unconsciousness to conscious awareness.

Common phrases

  • 一觉醒来yí jué xǐng lái

    wake up after sleeping

  • 猛然醒来měng rán xǐng lái

    wake up suddenly

  • 从睡梦中醒来cóng shuì mèng zhōng xǐng lái

    wake up from sleep

Similar words

叫醒jiào xǐng: Waking a sleeping person by calling, touching, or shaking them.
醒过来xǐng guò lái: Coming around and regaining awareness after sleep or unconsciousness.
起床qǐ chuáng: Rising from bed to begin the day's activities.

Definition in Chinese

从睡眠或昏迷中恢复意识，进入清醒状态。cóng shuì mián huò hūn mí zhōng huī fù yì shí jìn rù qīng xǐng zhuàng tài

Word origin

醒来 (xǐnglái, "wake up") joins 醒 (xǐng, "be awake") with 来 (lái, "come"), depicting becoming awake as coming into the present state.

Usage tips

  • This verb is normally intransitive, so the person whose awareness returns is the subject rather than a direct object.

Other meanings

  • regain consciousnessverb

Opposites

  • 入睡rù shuìfall asleepverb
  • 沉睡chén shuìsleep deeplyverb

Related words

Word lists with this word