寝坊する
nebō suru
To wake up late in Japanese is 寝坊する (nebō suru).
The phrase is used when you wake up later than intended or past a scheduled time.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
寝坊する can be used colloquially among friends. Additionally, 遅く起きる is frequently used in casual conversations.
How does it change in a sentence?
寝坊する is a suru-verb, meaning you conjugate the noun 寝坊 (nebō) with the verb する (suru) to create the full verb.
How do you pronounce it?
nebō suru
Did you know?
- The character 坊 (bō) in 寝坊 (nebō) originally referred to young Buddhist monks, which adds a surprising religious history to a word about sleeping late.
- In Japanese professional and academic environments, 寝坊する (nebō suru) is often viewed as a social failure or a breach of trust rather than a simple personal mistake.
- Japanese has a dedicated word 二度寝 (nidone) for the specific act of waking up and then falling back asleep, a common cause of 寝坊する.
Examples in context
- 彼は最近、遅く起きる傾向がある。He has been tending to wake up late recently.
- 今朝は寝坊して会議に遅れました。I overslept this morning and was late for the meeting.
- 昨日、遅く起きちゃったんだよ。I woke up late yesterday.
- あいつはいつも寝坊して遅刻するんだよ。That guy always oversleeps and is late.
- 寝坊するなんて、びっくりしました。Nebō suru nante, bikkuri shimashita.I was surprised that I woke up late.
