半はん睡すい半はん醒せい

は

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Meanings

1

noun

half asleep and half awake

yojijukugo (four-character idiom)

A yojijukugo describing a state between sleep and wakefulness, often used in literary or formal contexts.

彼かれは半はん睡すい半はん醒せいの状じょう態たいで、夢ゆめと現げん実じつの区く別べつがつかなかった。
He was in a half-asleep, half-awake state and couldn't tell dream from reality.

半half, middle, odd number
睡drowsy, sleep, die
醒awake, be disillusioned, sober up

Similar words

夢ゆめうつつ
夢うつつ also means a state between dream and reality, but is more common and less formal than 半睡半醒.
寝ねぼける
寝ぼける is a verb meaning to be half-asleep or drowsy, often used for someone who is not fully awake, while 半睡半醒 is a noun describing the state itself.

Etymology

A yojijukugo composed of 半 (half), 睡 (sleep), 半 (half), and 醒 (awake). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it follows a common four-character pattern for describing states.