Explore 眠 in words for sleeping, sleepiness and sleep. Connect each reading with a whole word and its context.
The idea
眠 has 10 strokes; follow the linked diagram. Read 眠る（ねむる）, 眠い（ねむい） and 睡眠（すいみん） as complete words. The first two use ねむ; the compound uses みん.
Examples
- 赤ちゃんはぐっすり眠っています。The baby is sleeping peacefully.
- 昨夜はよく眠れませんでした。I could not sleep last night.
- 昼ご飯の後は眠いです。I feel sleepy after lunch.
- 十分な睡眠は大切です。Getting enough sleep is important.
- 猫がソファで眠っています。The cat is sleeping on the sofa.
- 眠る前に音楽を聞きました。I listened to music before falling asleep.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Japanese device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
眠い describes feeling sleepy, while 眠る means to sleep. 寝る can also mean to go to bed, so it is not interchangeable in every context.
Try it yourself
Write the reading of 眠る in hiragana.
Show answer or example answer
ねむる
眠る is ねむる: the verb means to sleep. Learn the reading with the whole word.
Write the reading of 睡眠 in hiragana.
Show answer or example answer
すいみん
睡眠 is すいみん: it is a noun meaning sleep. The compound uses みん.
Choose the missing kanji: ＿い（ねむい）［眠／民］.
Show answer or example answer
眠
眠 completes 眠い, read ねむい; it describes feeling sleepy.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
Write the reading of 眠る in hiragana.
Write the reading of 睡眠 in hiragana.
Choose the missing kanji: ＿い（ねむい）［眠／民］.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
Sign up for free to save your practice results in your account.
Sign up to saveI already have an accountUse it today
Write 眠 using the stroke diagram. Cover the table, read 眠る and 睡眠, then make a sentence with one of them.