mèi

痗

Character · VerbTraditional寐

sleep; to sleep

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

2 senses · 4 examples
1.

verb

to sleep; to fall asleep

literary

Primarily used in Classical Chinese or formal/literary contexts. In modern Chinese, it's most commonly seen in the word '失眠' (shīmián, insomnia) or set phrases.

Yè夜
bù不
néng能
mèi寐
 。

Unable to sleep at night.

Tā他
zhǎn辗
zhuǎn转
fǎn反
cè侧
 ，
zhōng终
nán难
rù入
mèi寐
 。

He tossed and turned, and ultimately found it difficult to fall asleep.

Show 1 more example
mèng梦
mèi寐
yǐ以
qiú求

to crave something so much one dreams of it.

2.

verb

to be distressed into sickness; to sicken from grief

archaic

This is an archaic, specialized meaning derived from the connection between anxiety and sleeplessness.

Yōu忧
sī思
chéng成
jí疾
 ，
jìng竟
zhì至
qǐn寝
mèi寐
bù不
ān安
 。

Worry and thoughts made him ill, to the point where he couldn't sleep soundly.