Word
昼寝
Meaning in Englishnap (at home), siesta
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
昼寝 means a nap taken during the day. For English speakers, it refers to a brief rest aimed at restoring alertness after lunch, often lasting around 20 to 40 minutes and practiced at home, work, or school depending on the setting.
Main meanings
- daytime rest to boost alertness
- often associated with after-lunch energy dips
- used as a noun and can appear in related phrases describing the act
How to use it
Used as a noun to denote the act of napping during daylight hours; in casual speech it appears frequently after lunch, while in formal contexts it is less common and may be described with different phrasing; the verb form 昼寝をする indicates performing the nap.
Variants and close terms
- 仮眠 (かみん, kamin) — broader term for nap
- 午睡 (ごすい, gosui) — daytime nap, more formal
Composition
- 昼: day, noon
- 寝: sleep
- 昼寝 as a compound means a nap during the day
Etymology
昼 noon + 寝 sleep, forming a native compound; the reading hirune.
Word class
noun (名詞)