酣睡

• Pinyin: hān shuì
• Hanzi breakdown: 酣 = 酉 (vessel) + 甘 (sweet) — sweetly saturated; 睡 = 目 (eye) + 垂 (drooping) — eyes drooping in sleep

Meaning

To sleep soundly; to be in a deep, undisturbed sleep.

Used in literary description, medical contexts, and everyday speech. Implies a complete, restful sleep — often contrasted with 浅睡 (light sleep) or 失眠 (insomnia). Frequently appears in descriptions of exhausted people, young children, or serene scenes.

Examples

1. 经过连续三天的高强度施工，工人们回到营地后倒头便睡，酣睡了整整十个小时。 After three straight days of intense construction work, the workers returned to camp, crashed immediately, and slept soundly for a full ten hours.
2. 婴儿在摇篮中酣睡，呼吸轻柔而均匀，母亲守在一旁，神情宁静而满足。 The baby slept soundly in the cradle, breathing softly and evenly, while the mother kept watch nearby, calm and content.
3. 尽管窗外的雷声轰鸣，他依然酣睡不醒，完全沉浸在疲惫带来的深度睡眠之中。 Even with thunder roaring outside the window, he slept like a rock, completely immersed in the deep sleep brought on by exhaustion.

Usage Guide

Context: literature, medical, everyday description

Tone: peaceful

Do Say

• 孩子们在长途旅行的归途中早已酣睡，父母小心翼翼地将他们抱上床，生怕惊醒了他们。(The children had long since fallen into a deep sleep on the way home from the long journey; the parents carefully carried them to bed, afraid of waking them.)
• 他平时饱受失眠困扰，但昨晚不知为何格外放松，难得地酣睡了一整夜。(He usually suffers from insomnia, but last night he was unusually relaxed for some reason and enjoyed a rare, sound sleep throughout the night.)

Don't Say

• 酣睡 for disturbed or light sleep — 酣睡 implies deep undisturbed rest; for restless sleep use 浅眠 or 睡不安稳

Origin & History

酣 (deeply absorbed, saturated) + 睡 (sleep) — sleeping deeply and fully

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal