いびき

い

び

き

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

snoring; snore

usually written using kana alone

Refers to the sound or act of snoring. Commonly used in everyday speech.

父ちちのいびきがうるさくて眠ねむれなかった。
I couldn't sleep because my father's snoring was so loud.
彼かれはいびきをかいて寝ねている。
He is sleeping and snoring.

See all 18 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

いびきがひどいthe snoring is terrible/loud
父ちちのいびきがひどくて眠ねむれなかった。
My father's snoring was so loud I couldn't sleep.
いびきで目めが覚さめるto be woken up by (someone's) snoring
隣となりの部屋へやからのいびきで目めが覚さめた。
I was woken up by the snoring coming from the next room.

Expressions

いびきをかくsnore

Kanji

鼾snoring

Don't confuse with

寝ね言ごとN1
寝言 (ねごと) is talking in one's sleep, while いびき is the sound of snoring—both are sleep phenomena but not the same thing.
寝ね息いきN1
いびき refers to loud, disruptive snoring, while 寝息 describes the gentle, quiet breathing of someone sleeping peacefully.

Word family

空そら鼾いびき
pretending to snore; fake snoring

Written forms

いびきUsage61%
Standard kana spelling; usually written in kana.
鼾いびきUsage21%
Kanji form is rare and not commonly used in modern writing; the word is usually written in kana.
イビキUsage18%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling sometimes used for emphasis or in informal writing.

Etymology

The word is of native Japanese origin. The kanji 鼾 is a phono-semantic compound, but the kana spelling is overwhelmingly preferred in modern usage.