寝 (qǐn): (bound form) to lie down to sleep or rest, (bound form) bedroom, (bound form) imperial tomb
寝 (qǐn) is a Chinese character meaning “(bound form) to lie down to sleep or rest.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 宀 (structural), 丬 (structural), 彐 (structural), 冖 (structural) and 又 (structural). It ranks #2633 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 寝 a person 彐冖又 lying down on a bed 丬 in their home 宀. Its radical form 宀 (roof) appears in many related characters such as 客 (kè, guest, customer), 家 (jiā, home, family), 它 (tā, it).
Definitions
- (bound form) to lie down to sleep or rest
- (bound form) bedroom
- (bound form) imperial tomb
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA person 彐冖又 lying down on a bed 丬 in their home 宀
Decomposition: ⿱宀⿰丬⿳彐冖又 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 寝 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 寝室noun | qǐn shì | bedroom |
| 就寝verb | jiù qǐn | to go to sleep |
| 寝食难安phrase | qǐn shí nán ān | (lit.) unable to sleep or eat in peace (idiom) |
| 寿终正寝phrase | shòu zhōng zhèng qǐn | to die of old age |
| 废寝忘食phrase | fèi qǐn wàng shí | (idiom) to skip one's sleep and meals |
| 寝具noun | qǐn jù | bedding |
| 寝食不安 | qǐn shí bù ān | see 寢食難安|寝食难安 |
| 食肉寝皮phrase | shí ròu qǐn pí | to eat sb's flesh and sleep on their hide (idiom) |
| 安寝verb | ān qǐn | to sleep peacefully |
| 废寝忘餐 | fèi qǐn wàng cān | see 廢寢忘食|废寝忘食 |
| 忘餐废寝 | wàng cān fèi qǐn | see 廢寢忘食|废寝忘食 |
| 废寝食 | fèi qǐn shí | to neglect sleep and food |
| 寝苫枕块 | qǐn shān zhěn kuài | bed of straw and pillow of clay (idiom) |
| 枕戈寝甲 | zhěn gē qǐn jiǎ | lit. to sleep on one's armor with a spear as a pillow (idiom) |
| 陵寝noun | líng qǐn | tomb (of king or emperor) |
寝 appears in 15 compound words: 33 as the first character, 33 as the last, and 33 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 寝 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (9)
to be completely wrapped up in one's work and skip one's sleep and meals
lit. to sleep on one's armor with a spear as a pillow (idiom); fig. to keep ready for battle at all times
to be completely wrapped up in one's work and skip one's sleep and meals
lit. to sleep on one's armor with a spear as a pillow (idiom); fig. to keep ready for battle at all times
Showing 8 of 9 idioms containing 寝.
Example Sentences
这个寝字的意思与它的部首有关。
zhè gě qǐn zì de yì sī yú tā de bù shǒu yǒu guān .
The meaning of the character "寝" is related to its radical.
起初，在假期寝室的独居生活里，这一切似乎都井然有序。
qǐ chū , zài jiǎ qī qǐn shì de dú jū shēng huó lǐ , zhè yī qiē sì hū dōu jǐng rán yǒu xù .
At first, living alone in my dorm room during the break, everything seemed to be in perfect order.
堡内设有教堂（沙皇陵寝）、铸币厂、监狱、博物馆等设施，甚至有直升机等体验项目。
bǎo nèi shè yǒu jiào táng ( shā huáng líng qǐn ) , zhù bì hǎn , jiān yù , bó wù guǎn děng shè shī , shèn zhì yǒu zhí shēng jī děng tǐ yàn xiàng mù .
The fortress features a church (the Tsar's Mausoleum), a mint, a prison, a museum, and other facilities, and even offers experiential activities such as helicopter rides.
...式停产 近 20 年旗舰工作站系列寿终正寝
. . . shì tíng chǎn jìn 2 0 nián qí jiàn gōng zuò zhàn xì liè shòu zhōng zhèng qǐn
...Production has officially ceased; the flagship workstation series, which has been in production for nearly 20 years, has come to an end.
长久以来我都很早就寝。
Chángjiǔ yǐlái wǒ dōu hěn zǎojiù qǐn.
For a long time, I've had a habit of going to bed early.
差不多是我们就寝的时间了。
Chàbuduō shì wǒmen jiùqǐn de shíjiān le.
It's about time we went to bed.
就寝之前不要喝啤酒。
Jiùqǐn zhīqián bù yào hē píjiǔ.
Do not drink beer before going to bed.
我晚上很晚就寝。
Wǒ wǎnshang hěn wǎn jiùqǐn.
I go to bed late at night.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 寝 (qǐn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 寝 and 设?
How many strokes does 寝 have?
What is the radical of 寝?
What are the components of 寝?
What are common words containing 寝?
What characters sound the same as 寝 (qǐn)?
Is 寝 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 寝 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.