眠りたい
nemuritai
In Japanese, "I want to sleep" is expressed as 眠りたい (nemuritai).
This phrase is used to express a desire to go to sleep or fall asleep.
What does it mean word for word?
The suffix たい (tai) is attached to the verb stem to express the speaker's desire to do that action.
Which one should you use?
While 眠りたい focuses on the physiological state of being able to sleep, 寝たい (netai) is more commonly used in daily conversation to express the desire to go to bed or "hit the sack".
How does it change in a sentence?
Adding です (desu) to the end of 眠りたい makes the phrase polite.
How do you pronounce it?
nemuritai
Did you know?
- Japanese has a specific word, 居眠り (inemuri), for the act of nodding off or sleeping while sitting up, which is often socially acceptable in public transport or meetings.
- In Japanese, expressing 'I want to sleep' using the first-person desire suffix たい (tai) can sometimes sound slightly selfish or demanding if said to a superior, as it focuses entirely on your own physiological needs.
- The character 眠 (nemuri) contains the radical for 'eye' (目), which visually anchors the concept of sleep to the physical act of closing one's eyes.
Examples in context
- 少し眠りたい。I want to sleep.This sentence shows how to express the simple desire to sleep using 眠りたい.Tatoeba #146774 by KK_kaku_, translation #321870 by CK
- もう少し眠りたい。I want to sleep a little more.This sentence demonstrates adding a quantifier to use with 眠りたい.Tatoeba #194065 by bunbuku, translation #31234 by CK
- 私はあなたの妻と一緒に眠りたい。I want to sleep with your wife.This sentence uses 眠りたい in a specific contextual sentence.Tatoeba #784626 by DeSha, translation #784628 by DeSha
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hiyori and Kenta are studying late at night.
- 陽葵 Himariもう眠りたい。Mō nemuritai.I want to sleep already.
- 健太 Kentaあと少しで終わるよ。Ato sukoshi de owaru yo.We'll be finished in a little bit.
- 陽葵 Himariでも、本当に眠りたい。Demo, hontō ni nemuritai.But I really want to sleep.
- 健太 Kentaわかった。もう寝ようか。Wakatta. Mō neyō ka.I get it. Shall we go to bed now?
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
