Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 眠る | nemuru | [ne̞mɯ̟ɾɯ̟] (narrow) | |
| 寝る | neru | [ne̞ɾɯ̟] (narrow) | |
| お休みになる | o-yasumi ni naru | [o̞ja̠sɨmʲi ɲ̟i na̠ɾɯ̟] (narrow) | honorific |
The term is used to describe the physiological state of being asleep or the act of resting with reduced consciousness. Related nouns include 眠り and 睡眠 for the state of sleep itself, while 仮眠 refers to an informal act or instance of sleeping. To describe the condition of being sleep-deprived, the noun 寝不足 is used.
Which one should you use?
There is a nuance between the two common verbs: 寝る focuses on the physical act of lying down or going to bed, whereas 眠る focuses on the biological state of being asleep. 眠る is also frequently used in more literary or descriptive contexts.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
寝る is used in informal speech. For situations where you must show high respect to a superior or someone of higher status, use the honorific form お休みになる.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
nemuru
When do people say it?
When someone is going to sleep, the standard polite way to say 'good night' is おやすみなさい.
Did you know?
- While 寝る is used for the act of going to bed, the word 眠る is often used metaphorically in Japanese to mean 'to pass away' or 'to sleep eternally'.
- The common 'good night' phrase おやすみなさい is actually a polite command meaning 'please rest' or 'please sleep', derived from the honorific form お休みになる.
- The word おねむ is a specialized, childish version of 'sleepy' used when speaking to toddlers or infants.
Examples in context
- 寝る時間よ。It's time to go to sleep.This sentence is useful for saying it is time to go to sleep using 寝る.Tatoeba #145662 by bunbuku, translation #399124 by catakaoe
- 横向きに寝る。I sleep on my side.This sentence is useful for describing sleeping on one's side using 寝る.Tatoeba #188522 by KK_kaku_, translation #25666 by CK
- そろそろ寝るね。It's about time to sleep.This sentence is useful for indicating it is almost time to sleep using 寝る.Tatoeba #3137104 by tommy_san, translation #5261070 by Blurk
- わたしは毎晩八時間寝ます。I sleep eight hours every night.
- 彼は早く寝ることが好きです。He likes to sleep early.
- 今日は疲れたから早く寝よう。I'm tired today, so let's sleep early.
- 66 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daigo and Misaki are talking late at night in the living room.
- 大翔 Hirotoもう眠る準備はできた？Mō nemuru junbi wa dekita?Are you ready to sleep already?
- 美咲 Misakiうん、でもまだ眠れないよ。Un, demo mada nemurenai yo.Yes, but I can't sleep yet.
- 大翔 Hiroto早く眠るほうがいいよ。Hayaku nemuru hō ga ii yo.It's better to sleep early.
- 美咲 Misakiわかった。おやすみ、大翔。Wakatta. Oyasumi, Daigo.I understand. Good night, Daigo.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sleep” translations and entries 眠る, 寝る, お休みになる, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
