Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.
睡shuìto sleep
目eye · mùMeaning part
垂to hang · chuíSound part
目 hints at the meaning (eye); 垂 (chuí) hints at the sound. Compare it with shuì.
Memory aidAn eye 目 with its lid hanging down 垂: to sleep.
觉jiàoa nap
⺍small form of 小 · xiǎoSound part
冖cover · mì
见to see · jiànMeaning part
见 hints at the meaning (to see); ⺍ (xiǎo) hints at the sound. Compare it with jiào.
How to write 睡觉
睡 13 strokes · 觉 9 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 睡觉 (shuìjiào). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
睡觉 (shuìjiào) means “to sleep” or “to go to bed”. It is an HSK 1 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it shuìjiào: shuì with a 4th tone, then jiào with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 睡觉 is written 睡覺. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type shuijiao with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 睡觉 from the suggestions. Typing shuijiao into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
睡觉 is an HSK 1 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.
睡shuì4th tone, falling
