King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Chinese symbol for “drowsy”

瞌睡
kē shuì
drowsy; to doze; to nap

The closest CC-CEDICT match for drowsy is 瞌睡 (kē shuì), defined as: drowsy; to doze; to nap.

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Characters and stroke order

瞌 kē
sleepy; to doze off
radical 109 ⽬ · 15 strokes
睡 shuì
to sleep, to doze
radical 109 ⽬ · 13 strokes

Other Chinese words for “drowsy”

WordPinyinMeaning
昏昏欲睡hūn hūn yù shuìdrowsy; sleepy (idiom)
想睡xiǎng shuìdrowsy; sleepy

Related words

Other words that share a character with 瞌睡.

WordPinyinMeaning
打瞌睡dǎ kē shuìto doze; to nod off
瞌睡虫 (瞌睡蟲)kē shuì chóngmythological insect that makes people doze off; (fig.) drowsiness
睡觉 (睡覺)shuì jiàoto go to bed; to sleep
睡眠shuì miánsleep; to sleep
睡着 (睡著)shuì zháoto fall asleep
入睡rù shuìto fall asleep
睡衣shuì yīnight clothes; pajamas
沉睡chén shuìto be fast asleep; (fig.) to lie dormant; to lie undiscovered

See also: Japanese symbol for “drowsy”.

Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

Last posts

  1. Are Foam Escrima Sticks Good for Kids and How to Choose
  2. Best Padded Escrima Sticks for Sparring and Drill Safety
  3. Choosing the Right Escrima Stick Diameter for Your Hand Size
  4. What Length Escrima Sticks Should You Buy for Training
  5. Rattan vs Hardwood Escrima Sticks Which Is Better
  6. Best Escrima Sticks for Beginners and How to Choose Them
  7. Buying Different Staff Weights for Training and Forms
  8. Best Bo Staff Gifts for Karate Students Choosing the Right Tool
  9. Best Bags for a Six-Foot Bo Staff and Weapon Storage
  10. Choosing a Bo Staff Finish for Sweaty Hands