to sleep; to go to bed
HSK level
睡觉 is written with 22 strokes (睡: 13, 觉: 9). The animation replays automatically.
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 ('to feel').
Character by character
Memory hook: 睡 has the 目 (eye) radical drooping shut — eyes closing into sleep.
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
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.'
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.
Acquire it by listening
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