眠ねむい

ね

む

い

Common wordJLPTN5Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

眠い · i-adjective

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	眠ねむい	眠ねむくない
Polite	眠ねむいです	眠ねむくないですalso 眠ねむくありません
Past polite	眠ねむかったです	眠ねむくなかったですalso 眠ねむくありませんでした
Past	眠ねむかった	眠ねむくなかった
Te-form	眠ねむくて	眠ねむくなくて
Adverbial	眠ねむく
Conditional	眠ねむければ	眠ねむくなければ
Tara conditional	眠ねむかったら	眠ねむくなかったら

Meanings

i-adjective

sleepy; drowsy

Describes the feeling of wanting to sleep, often due to tiredness, boredom, or warmth. A very common everyday word.

昨さく夜やあまり寝ねられなかったので、今日きょうはとても眠ねむい。
I couldn't sleep much last night, so I'm very sleepy today.
暖あたたかい部屋へやで講こう義ぎを聞きいていると、だんだん眠ねむくなってきた。
Listening to the lecture in a warm room, I gradually became drowsy.

See all 113 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

眠ねむくてたまらないto be unbearably sleepy
授じゅ業ぎょう中ちゅう、眠ねむくてたまらなかった。
During class, I was so sleepy I could barely stand it.
眠ねむい目めをこするto rub one's sleepy eyes
彼かれは眠ねむい目めをこすりながら起おきてきた。
He got up rubbing his sleepy eyes.
眠ねむくて〈動どう詞し〉ないtoo sleepy to do (something)
眠ねむくて勉べん強きょうできない。
I'm too sleepy to study.

Expressions

眠ねむらない街まちcity that never sleeps
眠ねむりにつくfall asleep; go to sleep
安やすらかに眠ねむれrest in peace; RIP

Kanji

眠sleep, die, sleepy
睡drowsy, sleep, die

Related words

眠ねむたいN1
眠い is the standard word for feeling sleepy, while 眠たい is a more colloquial, slightly emphatic variant used especially by children or in casual speech.

Opposites

目めが冴さえるN1
眠い describes feeling sleepy and wanting to sleep, the opposite state from 目が冴える, where one is too alert to fall asleep.

Don't confuse with· 5

眠ねむるN4
眠い is the adjective describing the feeling of wanting to sleep, whereas 眠る is the verb meaning 'to sleep,' so learners must not confuse the two grammatically.
寝ねるN5
眠い describes the sensation of drowsiness, while 寝る is the verb for the act of going to sleep or lying down, so 眠い itself cannot be used to say someone 'sleeps.'
だるいN2
眠い specifically means sleepy/wanting to sleep, while だるい describes a heavy, sluggish bodily feeling that isn't necessarily about needing sleep.

Show 2 more

眠ねむ気けN1
眠気 is the noun for the state of sleepiness itself, while 眠い is the adjective meaning 'I am sleepy,' describing a person's condition.
眠ねむれる
眠い describes the feeling of being sleepy, whereas 眠れる (the potential form) describes the ability to actually fall asleep.

Word family· 12

眠ねむりN3
sleep; sleeping · inactivity; dormancy · death; eternal sleep
眠ねむれる
sleeping; asleep; slumbering · to be able to sleep
眠ねむ気けN1
sleepiness; drowsiness
居い眠ねむりN3
nodding off (while sitting); dozing
眠ねむたいN1
sleepy; drowsy

Show 7 more

眠ねむらす
put to sleep; make someone sleep · kill; do someone in
眠ねむるN4
sleep; go to sleep; fall asleep · die; rest in peace; lie buried · lie idle; lie unused; lie dormant · close one's eyes
おねむ
sleep; sleepiness; beddy-bye
ネムリブカ
whitetip reef shark
眠ねむそう
sleepy-looking; sleepy-sounding
眠ねむらせる
put to sleep; make someone sleep · kill; put down · leave unused; let something lie dormant
眠ねむりつわり
extreme sleepiness during pregnancy; pregnancy fatigue

Written forms

眠ねむいUsage95%
Standard kanji spelling; the most common written form.
ねむいUsage4%
睡ねむいUsage1%
Rare variant using the 睡 kanji; not commonly used in modern Japanese.

Etymology

Derived from the verb 寝る (ねる, 'to sleep') with the adjectival suffix い, indicating a state or feeling. The kanji 眠 is specifically associated with sleepiness.