Mandarin Monday: Never Miss a Z Again With These Handy Sleep Terms

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the flowers are blooming outside, yet you find that you feel sleepier than usual while others bounce around in the warm weather. In Chinese, this phenomenon is called 春困秋乏夏打盹 (chūn kùn qiū fá xià dǎ dǔn), a proverb that describes how people tend to feel sleepy in spring, doze off in summer, and feel tired in autumn.

In English, it's known as "springtime lethargy," a very real human body reaction to seasonal climate change which can leave those affected feeling fatigued, lazy, and even depressed. If you find yourself muttering more than a few of the following phrases per day, it might be time to head to the doctor. Otherwise, try them in front of your boss and perhaps they'll be kind enough to grant you an afternoon nap, China-style.

Feeling sleepy

Take a nap
小睡一下 xiǎo shuì yí xià

Doze off
打盹儿 dǎ dǔnr

Feel sleepy
困 kùn

Going to sleep

Hit the sack/hit the hay
去睡觉 qù shuì jiào

Go straight to bed/sleep
立刻睡觉 lì kè shuì jiào

Go out like a light
倒头就睡/秒睡 dǎo tóu jiù shuì/miǎo shuì 

Catch some Z's
补觉/睡回笼觉 bǔ jiào/shuì huí lóng jiào

Beauty sleep
美容觉 měi róng jiào

Sleeping

To sleep
睡觉 shuìjiào

To fall asleep
睡着 shuì zháo

Dream
做梦 zuò mèng

Sleepwalk
梦游 mèng yóu

Snore
打呼噜 dǎ hū lu

Sleeplessness/insomnia
失眠 shī mián

Sleep-talking
说梦话 shuō mèng huà

A heavy/deep sleeper
睡觉很沉的人 shuì jiào hěn chén de rén

Light sleeper
睡觉很轻的人 shuì jiào hěn qīng de rén

Sleep like a baby/log
睡得很香 shuì de hěn xiāng

Sleep well, Have sweet dreams
祝你晚安好梦 zhù nǐ wǎn ān hǎo mèng

Waking up

Wake up naturally
自然醒 zì rán xǐng

Sleep in
睡懒觉 shuì lǎn jiào

Oversleep
睡过头 shuì guò tóu

READ: Spring Has Sprung: The Best Beijing Parks and Gardens for Budding Horticulturalists

This article originally appeared on our sister site beijingkids.

Photo: Unsplash