Definition
沉睡 means 'to be fast asleep' (deep, sound sleep) or figuratively 'to lie dormant' (undiscovered). It differs from 酣睡 (hān shuì), which only describes a deep sleep, not a dormant state. 休眠 (xiū mián) is a technical term for biological/computing dormancy or hibernation, not used for people sleeping.
verb
to be fast asleepto lie dormantto remain undiscovered
Examples
- ,沉睡沉睡。Tā zuówǎn gōngzuò dào hěn wǎn, xiànzài hái zài chén shuì.He worked late last night and is still fast asleep now.
- 沉睡。Zhè kē zhǒngzi zài tǔ lǐ chén shuì le zhěng zhěng yí gè dōngtiān.This seed lay dormant in the soil for a whole winter.
- 沉睡,。Nà pī bǎozàng zài dìxià chén shuì le jǐ bǎi nián, zhōngyú bèi fāxiàn le.That batch of treasure lay dormant underground for centuries and was finally being discovered.
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