眠る · godan verb (-ru)
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 眠る | 眠らない |
| Polite | 眠ります | 眠りません |
| Past polite | 眠りました | 眠りませんでした |
| Past | 眠った | 眠らなかった |
| Te-form | 眠って | 眠らないで |
| Desire | 眠りたい | 眠りたくない |
| Potential | 眠れる | 眠れない |
| Passive | 眠られる | 眠られない |
| Causative | 眠らせる | 眠らせない |
| Causative passive | 眠らせられるalso 眠らされる | 眠らせられないalso 眠らされない |
| Volitional | 眠ろう | |
| Polite volitional | 眠りましょう | |
| Imperative | 眠れ | 眠るな |
| Conditional | 眠れば | 眠らなければ |
| Tara conditional | 眠ったら | 眠らなかったら |
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
sleep; go to sleep; fall asleep
General intransitive verb for sleeping or falling asleep. Compare 寝る, which focuses more on lying down or going to bed.
See also: 寝る
昨夜はよく眠れましたか。
Did you sleep well last night?
The baby finally fell asleep.
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
die; rest in peace; lie buried
Euphemistic or poetic use for death, often in phrases like 永遠に眠る (rest eternally) or 墓の下に眠る (lie buried under a grave).
He quietly entered eternal sleep.
Our ancestors rest in this land.
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
lie idle; lie unused; lie dormant
Only with reading ねむる
Figurative use for resources, talents, or potential that remain unused. Restricted to the reading ねむる.
His talent is still lying dormant.
There are funds lying idle without being used.
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
Archaic sense; in modern Japanese, 目を閉じる is the standard expression.
In classical language, 眠る was used to mean 'close one's eyes'.
I slept for eight hours last night.
Old machines lie unused in the warehouse.
The child is sleeping soundly.
I saw a person sleeping on a bench in the park.
眠る means 'to sleep', the direct opposite of 覚める 'to wake up' from sleep.
眠る means to fall asleep or be asleep, the opposite state from 目が覚める, which means to wake up.
fall asleep; sleep deeply
doze off; nod off; snooze
Kana spelling is common in casual writing and when the kanji is not needed.
Rare kanji variant; 眠る is overwhelmingly preferred in modern Japanese.