休 xiū
- Strokes
- 6
- Radical
- 亻 — man, person
- Made of
- 亻 man, person 木 tree
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
休眠
xiūmián
to hibernate; to lie dormant; sleep mode
Characters in this word
眠 mián
- Strokes
- 10
- Radical
- 目 — eye
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
Example phrases
- 这类病毒可以在宿主体内长期休眠，一旦免疫力下降便重新活跃。 Zhè lèi bìngdú kěyǐ zài sùzhǔ tǐnèi chángqī xiūmián, yídàn miǎnyìlì xiàjiàng biàn chóngxīn huóyuè. This type of virus can remain dormant in the host for a long time and become active again once immunity declines.
- 冬天来了，熊躲进山洞里休眠，一直到春天。 Dōngtiān láile, xióng duǒjìn shāndòng lǐ xiūmián, yīzhí dào chūntiān. Winter has come; the bear hides in a cave and hibernates until spring.
- 这座火山休眠了几百年，随时可能再醒来。 Zhè zuò huǒshān xiūmiánle jǐ bǎi nián, suíshí kěnéng zài xǐnglái. This volcano has lay dormant for several hundred years and could wake up again at any time.
Related words
- 休息 xiūxi to rest; rest
- 休假 xiūjià to be on vacation
- 退休 tuìxiū to retire
- 休闲 xiūxián leisure
- 罢休 bàxiū to stop; to let the matter drop
- 休克 xiūkè shock; to go into shock
- 休想 xiūxiǎng do not imagine; don't even think of
- 休养 xiūyǎng to recuperate; to rest and recover
- 睡眠 shuìmián sleep
- 安眠药 ānmiányào sleeping pill
- 催眠 cuīmián to hypnotise; to induce sleep
- 雄性 xióngxìng male; male sex