How to say 'Sleepy' in Japanese | 眠い

Wondering how to say 'Sleepy' in Japanese? You're in the right place!

The Japanese word for Sleepy is 'Nemui', written as 眠い in Japanese.'Sleepy' in hiragana is ねむい.

word

眠い

Meaning

Sleepy

Reading

ねむい

nemui

Kanji

眠Sleep, Sleepy

Explanation

The Japanese adjective '眠い (ねむい)' means 'sleepy'. It is used to describe the feeling of wanting to sleep or being drowsy. This word is commonly used in casual conversations to express tiredness or the need for rest. For example: I'm so sleepy today「今日はとても眠い」(きょうはとてもねむい). Why are you so sleepy?「どうしてそんなに眠いの？」(どうしてそんなにねむいの？). It can also describe something that induces sleepiness, such as a boring lecture: This class makes me sleepy「この授業は眠い」(このじゅぎょうはねむい).

Part Of Speech

adjective

Kanji JLPT

Kanji Grade

Frequency

2154

Composition

kanji-hiragana

Handwriting

This word is an i-adjective. To learn how it transforms in different tenses and forms, explore all its conjugations.

Kanji in the Word 眠い

This word contains 1 kanji character:

kanji

眠

Meaning

Sleep, Sleepy

Hiragana in the Word 眠い

This word contains 1 Hiragana character :

hiragana

い

Reading

Words Related to 眠い Through the Kanji 眠

These 5 Words contain the Kanji 眠 as well.

word

眠る

Meaning

Sleep

word

居眠り

Meaning

Doze

word

睡眠

Meaning

Sleep

word

眠り

Meaning

Sleep

word

眠たい

Meaning

Sleepy

Learn the Word 眠い

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What does 'Nemui' (眠い) mean?

'Nemui' means 'Sleepy' .

To help you master this word, here's an interactive lesson where you'll practice its readings and meanings.