half asleep; not fully awake
Describes the groggy state when one is still drowsy or not yet fully alert, often right after waking up.
When I looked at the clock with half-asleep eyes, it was still 3 a.m.
I was half asleep in the morning and accidentally put face wash on my toothbrush.
be half asleep; be drowsy; be not fully awake
half-awake voice; sleepy voice
sleepy eyes; drowsy look
Standard kanji-kana spelling.
Rare variant using 惚, which can imply absent-mindedness or infatuation.
Compound of 寝 (ne, 'sleep') and ぼけ (boke, 'dullness' or 'senility'), from the verb 寝ぼける (nebokeru).