Definition
夜不能寐 is a four-character idiom meaning 'unable to sleep at night', typically due to worry, anxiety, or excitement. The literal breakdown is 夜 (night), 不能 (cannot), 寐 (fall asleep), but it functions as a set phrase in both literary and spoken Chinese to describe sleeplessness caused by strong emotion. It can be used as a verb phrase in contexts like 'worry so much that one cannot sleep'.
v
unable to sleep at night (due to worry, anxiety, or excitement)
Examples
- ，夜不能寐。Tā zuìjìn yālì hěn dà, chángcháng yè bú.He's been under a lot of pressure lately, often unable to sleep at night.
- ，夜不能寐。Tā yīnwèi kǎoshì de shìqing, yǐjīng liánxù jǐ tiān yè bú le.Because of the exam, she's been unable to sleep at night for several days straight.
- ，夜不能寐。Tīngdào zhège xiāoxi, tā jīdòng de yè bú.Hearing the news, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep at night.
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