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Chinese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "sleep" in Chinese?
睡觉
shuì jiào
In Chinese, "sleep" is 睡觉 (shuì jiào).
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Pronunciation
Say shuì jiào with "shuì" snapped down sharply (fourth tone), then "jiào" snapped down sharply (fourth tone).
Writing and usage
睡觉 is written using hanzi. It's a verb, part of the vocabulary taught in the Noun Town language learning game.
Example sentence
宝宝大部分时间都在睡觉。
bǎo bǎo dà bù fèn shí jiān dōu zài shuì jiào 。
Babies sleep most of the day.
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How to remember 睡觉
Think of "shuì jiào" as sounding like "shway jyahoh": imagine sleep happening right as you say it.
Related words
Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.
Questions about 睡觉
How do you pronounce 睡觉?
Say shuì jiào with "shuì" snapped down sharply (fourth tone), then "jiào" snapped down sharply (fourth tone).
Is 睡觉 formal or casual?
睡觉 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech.
How is 睡觉 used in Chinese?
睡觉 is used the same way as the equivalent English verb. For example: 宝宝大部分时间都在睡觉。 (Babies sleep most of the day.).
Where can I practice Chinese words for free?
You can play free Chinese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, no sign-up required. Every word in the Chinese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"Sleep" in other languages
Curated by Callan Ratcliffe
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