睡觉

• Pinyin: shuì jiào
• Hanzi breakdown: 睡 = 目 (eye) + 垂 (droop); 觉 = 学 (phonetic) + 见 (see)

Meaning

To sleep; to go to bed. The most common everyday expression for sleeping.

A separable verb — 觉 can be separated from 睡 by other elements such as duration or descriptors. For example, 睡了一个好觉 (had a good sleep). This is the standard way to say 'to sleep' in daily conversation.

Examples

1. 我每天十点睡觉。 I go to bed at ten every day.
2. 你昨天几点睡觉的？ What time did you go to bed yesterday?
3. 小猫在那儿睡觉呢。 The kitten is sleeping over there.

Usage Guide

Context: daily routine, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 我要去睡觉了。(I'm going to sleep now.)
• 宝宝已经睡觉了。(The baby has already gone to sleep.)

Don't Say

• 我睡觉了八个小时。(Wrong — 睡觉 is separable; say 我睡了八个小时 or 我睡了一个好觉)

Origin & History

A verb-object compound: 睡 (to sleep) + 觉 (a nap/sleep), literally 'to sleep a sleep.'

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal