睡觉
to sleep; to go to bed
shuìjiào
What does 睡觉 mean?
睡觉 (shuìjiào) is the Chinese verb for 'to sleep' — but structurally it's a verb-object compound: 睡 ('to sleep') + 觉 ('a sleep / a nap,' here pronounced jiào, not jué). This means 睡觉 already contains its object, so you cannot stick another object directly after it the way English does. To say 'sleep for 8 hours,' you split the compound and insert the duration: 睡八个小时觉 (literally 'sleep eight hours of sleep'). 睡觉 covers both 'to sleep' (the state) and 'to go to bed' (the action of going to lie down).
Common patterns: 去睡觉 ('go to bed'), 在睡觉 ('is sleeping right now'), 睡不着 ('can't fall asleep'). For 'fall asleep' as an event, use 睡着 (shuìzháo). The character 觉 has two readings: jiào ('a sleep') here, and jué in 觉得
Character breakdown
to sleep (eye radical 目 on the left — drooping eyes)
a sleep; a nap (read jué in other contexts like 觉得 'to feel')
Memory hook: 睡 has the 目 (eye) radical drooping shut — eyes closing into sleep.
Example sentences
我要去睡觉了。
Wǒ yào qù shuìjiào le.
I'm going to bed now.
spoken
他在睡觉。
Tā zài shuìjiào.
He's sleeping.
spoken
你昨天几点睡觉？
Nǐ zuótiān jǐ diǎn shuìjiào?
What time did you go to bed last night?
spoken
孩子们都睡觉了。
Háizimen dōu shuìjiào le.
The children have all gone to sleep.
neutral
Common phrases with 睡觉
Synonyms
睡 alone is the bare verb and is used when you need to attach an object or duration: 睡两个小时 ('sleep two hours'). 睡觉 is the everyday standalone verb for 'sleep / go to bed.'
Don't confuse 睡觉 with
Same 觉 character, but pronounced jué here, not jiào. 觉得 means 'to feel / think.' 我觉得 ('I think') is unrelated to 睡觉 ('sleep'). One character, two readings — pay attention to context.
睡眠 is the noun 'sleep' (as in 'quality of sleep') — formal, used in health contexts. 睡觉 is the verb and the daily-life word. Don't say 我去睡眠; say 我去睡觉.
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