Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 上床 | shàngchuáng | |
| 睡覺 / 睡觉 | shuìjiào | |
| 就寢 / 就寝 | jiùqǐn | literary |
The phrase is used to describe the act of lying down to sleep. Depending on the nuance, you may use 上床 to emphasize the physical action of getting into the bed or 睡觉 to focus on the state of sleeping. Note that 上床 can occasionally carry a sexual connotation in certain contexts, so be mindful of the setting when using it to refer to the physical act of getting into bed.
Which one should you use?
上床 specifically emphasizes the physical action of getting into the bed. In contrast, 睡觉 is the more general term used for the act of sleeping itself. The literary form 就寢 is used to mean 'to retire for the night'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
就寢 is a formal or literary term suitable for official contexts or written texts. For a formal way to say 'get onto the bed and rest', you can use 上床休息. In casual settings, such as when speaking to children, you might hear the informal 睡觉觉 or the instructional phrase 刷牙洗脸睡觉 (brush your teeth, wash your face and go to bed).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Cantonese, the term 瞓觉 can be used to mean 'go to bed'.
How does it change in a sentence?
睡觉 is a separable verb (a verb-object construction). This means you can insert time or duration between the characters 睡 and 觉, such as in the phrase 睡了个好觉 (slept a good sleep).
How do you pronounce it?
shàngchuáng
Did you know?
- The word 就寢 originates from ancient court language used to describe the Emperor retiring for the night.
- In the phrase 睡觉, the character 觉 is pronounced 'jiào' when it means 'sleep' but 'jué' when it means 'awareness' or 'feeling'.
- The Cantonese term 瞓觉 uses the character 瞓, which is unique to the dialect and not used in standard Mandarin to mean 'sleep'.
Examples in context
- 我十一点上床。I go to bed at eleven.This sentence is useful for stating the specific time you go to bed using 上床.Tatoeba #5554058 by verdastelo9604, translation #73354 by CK
- 他們不想上床睡覺。They didn't want to go to bed.This sentence uses 上床 to express a lack of desire to go to bed.Tatoeba #13524072 by LeviHighway, translation #8836729 by sundown
- 上床睡觉之前请关灯。Please turn off the light before you go to bed.This sentence uses 上床 to provide an instruction regarding lights and bedtime.Tatoeba #1416273 by sadhen, translation #268915 by CK
- 我现在要去睡觉了。I'm going to bed now.
- 现在是夜晚了，你应该上床休息。It's nighttime now, and you should go to bed.
- 小宝宝，晚上要乖乖睡觉觉哦。Little baby, you should sleep well at night.
- 宝宝，刷牙洗脸，准备睡觉了。Baby, brush your teeth, wash your face, and get ready for bed.
- 宝贝，晚上瞓觉噶时候记得关灯。Darling, remember to turn off the lights when you go to bed at night.
- 别太晚睡，早点躺下休息比较好。Don't sleep too late, it's better to lie down and rest earlier.
- 11 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A husband and wife are talking in their bedroom late at night.
- 佳怡 Jiayi太晚了，我们快点上床吧。Tai wan le, women kuai dian shang chuang ba.It's too late, let's go to bed quickly.
- 伟 Wei好，我累了。Hao, wo lei le.Okay, I'm tired.
- 佳怡 Jiayi你今天很辛苦。Ni jin tian hen xin ku.You worked hard today.
- 伟 Wei谢谢，晚安。Xie xie, wan an.Thank you, good night.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “go to bed” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
