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おねむ Japanese meaning | Kotomora

おねむ

お

ね

む

Meanings

1

noun

sleep; sleepiness; beddy-bye

usually written using kana alonechildren's language

Childish or affectionate word for sleep or feeling sleepy, used mainly with small children.

もうおねむの時じ間かんだよ。
It's time for beddy-bye now.
赤あかちゃんがおねむでぐずっている。
The baby is fussy because she's sleepy.

Written forms

おねむUsage90%
Usually written in kana; the kanji forms are rare or search-only.
お眠ねむUsage10%
Rare kanji form; the kana spelling is strongly preferred.
お睡ねむ
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; the kana spelling is strongly preferred.

Kanji

眠

sleep, die, sleepy

睡drowsy, sleep, die

Similar words

眠ねむい
Standard adjective for 'sleepy'; おねむ is a childish noun form.
睡すい眠みん
Formal term for 'sleep'; おねむ is informal and affectionate.

Etymology

From the honorific prefix お (o-) attached to ねむ (nemu), a baby-talk or childish form related to 眠る (nemuru, 'to sleep') and 眠い (nemui, 'sleepy').