半はん醒せい半はん睡すい

は

ん

せ

い

は

ん

す

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Meanings

1

noun

half awake and half asleep

yojijukugo (four-character idiom)

A yojijukugo describing a drowsy, in-between state of consciousness, often used in literary or formal contexts.

彼かれは半はん醒せい半はん睡す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 half awake and half asleep, unable to distinguish between dream and reality.

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

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 半醒半睡.
半はん睡すい半はん醒せい
A variant yojijukugo with the same meaning but reversed character order; less common than 半醒半睡.

Etymology

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