「ああ彼のことを考えると眠れないわ。」

=Ah..kare no koto wo kangaeru to nemurenai wa.

= Ah…I can’t sleep if I think of him.

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This lesson is for Jetta who left the following request in a comment section before.

Dear Maggie!
I also have a question: Are there any differences between 眠る and 寝る. Or are these words totally synonymous?
Many thanks in advance!

Actually I’ve seen this question on Twitter a couple of times. So let’s take this opportunity to learn other sleep related words.

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!lotsofhearts! 寝る(=neru) VS  眠る(=nemuru)

When you look them up in the dictionary, you may find they both mean “to sleep”.
Yes, sometimes they can be interchangeable but while 寝る(=neru) often means “to go to bed” ,“to intend to sleep consciously”, 眠る(= nemuru) means simply “to fall a sleep or “to fall asleep because you can’t help it or control it”
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Here are more explanations and details:

:ddd: 寝る(= neru)

■The movement of your body and mind temporarily slow down

■When you intend to sleep consciously

→Action of going to bed
→Action of going to sleep
→To lay down and sleep

■To be in a subconscious condition with your eyes closed.

The counterpart verb is:

起きる= okiru = to get up

眠る (= nemuru)

■The movement of your body and mind temporarily slow down

■ to fall asleep

■ to imply deep sleep

■ It refers to the condition of your body while it is sleeping –  you don’t necessary need to lay down to fall asleep. (Ex. sitting down, standing up, etc.)

The counterpart verb is:

目を覚ます= me wo samasu = to be awake

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★In some sentences, you will see both 寝る（=neru) and 眠る(=nemuru) :

You see the definition, the movement of you body and mind gets decreased tentatively for both 寝る(=neru) & 眠る(=nemuru)

Ex. 「ああ、よく寝た。or よく眠れた。」
= Aa, yoku neta. or nemureta.
= Haaa I slept well (for a long time)!  or I was able to sleep very well.

While よく寝た(=yokuneta) implies the length of your sleep, よく眠れた(=yoku nemureta) implies the quality of sleep)

When we use with adverbs such as ぐっすり=gussuri=deeply, etc., there is not much difference, still I would say 眠る（= nemuru） to give the impression of deeper sleep.

Ex. 「マギーぐっすり寝てるね。or ぐっすり眠ってるね。」
= Maggie gussuri neterune. or Gussuri nemutteiru ne.
= Maggie is sleeping soundly.

Grammar Note :

寝てる(=neteru) casual form←寝ている(=neteiru)

眠ってる(=nemutteru) casual form←眠っている(=nemutteiru)

Ex.  私はどこでも寝れる。 or  眠れる
＝Watashi wa dokodemo nereru. or nemureru
= I can sleep anywhere. or fall asleep everywhere.

寝れる(=nereru) means “to lie down anywhere and sleep”  眠れる(=nemureru) means “to fall asleep anywhere”

************************************************

寝る= neru

1) To go to bed, to go sleep

Ex. 「もう寝なさい!」
= Mou nenasai!
= Go to bed now! / Go to sleep now!

Ex. 明日早いからもうそろそろ寝たら？
= Ashita hayai kara mou sorosoro netara?
= You have an early day tomorrow. Why don’t you go to bed already?

Ex. もうこんな時間だから寝ます。
= Mou konna jikan dakara nemasu.
= It is already late so I will go to bed now.

Ex. いつも何時に寝ますか？
= Itsumo nanji ni nemasu ka?
= What time do you usually go to bed/sleep?

Ex. 寝る前にはあまり食べない方がいい。
= Neru mae ni wa amari tabenai hou ga ii.
= We shouldn’t eat too much before we go to bed.

2) Action of sleeping (to lie down and sleep)

Ex. ちょっとだけ寝てきます。
= Chotto dake nete kimasu.
= I will take a catnap.

Ex. 最近あまり寝ていない。
= Saikin amari nete inai.
= I haven’t been sleeping enough lately.

Ex. 今夜、寝る場所がない。
= Konya neru basho ga nai.
= There is no place to stay tonight.

Ex. 皆が寝ている間に勉強する
= Mina ga neteiru aida ni benkyou suru.
= to study while everybody is sleeping

Ex. 最近、寝てもすぐ目が覚める
=  Saikin nete mo sugu mega sameru
= Lately when  I go to sleep, I wake up easily.

Ex.寝ると疲れがとれる
= Neru to tsukare ga toreru
= If you get enough sleep, you’ll be able to get rid of the tired feeling.

3) Proverbs with 寝る(= neru)

Ex. 寝た子を起こすな
= Neta ko wo okosu na.
= Let sleeping dogs lie.

Ex. 寝る子は育つ
= Neru ko wa sodatsu
= Sleep brings up a child well

Ex. 食べてすぐ寝ると（or 横になると）牛になる。
= Tabete sugu neru to ushi ni naru
= You will become a cow if you sleep (or lay down) right after you eat.

(It is not good for digestion to sleep (or lay down) right after you eat.) [<-- This is a common Japanese belief.]

●寝だめはできない
= Nedame wa dekinai.
= You can’t store up sleep.

4) Other  expressions with 寝 :

●寝入る
= neiru
= drop asleep

Ex. 子供を寝かしつける
= Kodomo wo nekashi tsukeru
= to get a child to sleep

●昼寝(を)する
= hirune (wo ) suru
= to take a nap

Ex.  寝方が悪いから肩が凝る
= Nekata ga warui kara kata ga koru
= You sleep wrong so you get stiff shoulders

●寝相が悪い
= nezou ga warui
= restless sleeper, toss around, moving a lot while you sleep, kicking one’s futon

●寝顔
= negao
= sleeping face

Ex. マギーの寝顔はかわいい
= Maggie no negao wa kawaii
= Maggie looks cute when she is asleep

●寝床
= nedoko
= bed, the place you sleep (a bit old fashioned)

●寝言
= negoto
= sleep talking

Ex. 寝言を言う
= negoto wo iu
= to talk during sleep

●寝たばこ
= netabako
= smoking in bed

Ex. 寝たばこを吸う
= netabako wo suu
= to smoke in bed

●寝たきり
= Netakiri
= bed ridden

●食っちゃ寝
= Kuccha ne
= eating and sleeping (describe one’s lazy life Check this mini lesson)

Ex. 毎日、食っちゃ寝の生活だ。
= Mainichi kucchane no seikatsu da.
= I have  been just eating and sleeping everyday. (That’s all I do in my life.)

Like in English, 寝る(= neru) also has a sexual connotation.

Ex.「もう彼女と寝たの？」
= Mou kanojo to netano?
= Did you sleep with her already?

●川の字になって寝る
= kawa no ji ni natte neru
= Three people sleep next to each other like a letter of 川( = kawa)

Like this…

Note : In Japan, it is pretty common to sleep with your child in the same room when they are small.
So when three people (usually parents and a child) lined up (like a letter of 川=kawa) we use this expression.

●寝違える= nechigaeru  = to sprained one’s neck while sleeping

●うたた寝= utatane = dozing

●ゴロ寝 = goro ne = to lie dozing in a lazy way (Usually without changing one’s clothes.)

Ex. 父は日曜日はいつもパジャマのままでゴロ寝をしている。

= Chichi wa nichiyoubi wa itsumo pajamama no mamade gorone wo shiteiru.

= My father always lies dozing (on the floor) in pajamas at home on Sundays.

●雑魚寝= zakone = this describes many people sleep in a huddle, to sleep crowded together in the same room.

●寝不足= nebusoku = lack of sleep

Ex. 今日は寝不足だ。

= Kyou wa nebusoku da.

= I haven’t slept enough today.

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眠る = nemuru

1) to fall asleep, to sleep

●最近よく眠れない。
= Saikin yoku nemurenai

= I haven’t been sleeping well lately

●眠りが浅い
= nemuri ga asai

= shallow sleep

●眠りが深い
= nemuri ga fukai

= deep sleep

●眠りから覚める
= nemuri kara sameru

= to be awake from one’s sleep

●眠りにつく
= nemuri ni tsuku

= to fall asleep

●深い眠り
= fukai nemuri
= a deep sleep

Ex. お姫様は深い眠りから覚めました。
= Ohimesama wa fukai nemuri kara samemashita.
= The princess awoke from a deep sleep.

The fairy tale that we all know is,

●眠れる森の美女
= Nemureru mori no bijo
= ”Sleeping Beauty”

2)  眠る(= nemuru) also describe something is in the condition of not being used for a long time.

Ex,  うちに使わずに眠っているピアノが一台ある。
= Uchi ni tsukawazu ni nemutte iru piano ga ichidai aru.
= In my house we have a piano that nobody has played for a long time.

3)  眠る(= nemuru) is also a metaphor for passing away.

●永遠の眠りにつく
= eien no nemuri ni tsuku
= to sleep forever, to die
or
●永眠する
= eimin suru

4) Other expressions with 眠

●眠くなる
= nemuku naru
= to get sleepier, to feel sleepy

Ex. 眠くなってきた。
= nemutaku natte kita
= I’m getting sleepier

●眠たい
= nemutai
= to be sleepy

●居眠り
= inemuri
= a catnap, a snooze

●仮眠する
= kamin

= catnap,short sleep, to catch 40 winks

=to catch a little sleep/to catch some z’s

●快眠
= kaimin

= a good sleep

●不眠症
= fuminshou

= insomnia

Ex. 私最近不眠症なんだ。
= Watashi saikin fuminshou nanda

●眠気 = nemuke = sleepiness

Ex. 眠気覚ましにコーヒーを飲む

= nemuke zamashi ni kouhii wo nomu

= to have a cup of coffee to keep oneself awake

●睡眠
= suimin
= to sleep

●睡眠時間が短い
= suimin jikan ga mijikai

= to have a short sleep time, to not have much time to sleep

●睡眠をとる
= suimin wo toru
= to have a sleep

●睡眠不足
= suimin busoku
= a lack of sleep

●ノンレム睡眠
= non remu suimin
= non-REM sleep (non-rapid eye movement sleep)

●睡眠時間
= suimin  jikan
= sleeping hours

●睡眠薬
= suimin yaku
= sleeping tablets, pills

●睡魔が襲う
= suima ga osou

= to get sleepy suddenly

Ex. 急に睡魔が襲ってきた。
= Kyuuni suima ga osotte kita.

= to suddenly feel sleepy

●睡魔と戦う
= suima to tatakau
= to fight off sleep

●熟睡
= jukusui

= a dead sleep

●爆睡 (colloquial)
= bakusui
= a dead sleep

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

!ZZZ! Japanese is full of onomatopoetic words and there are a few words to describe how we sleep.

When you describe a baby who is sleeping well, we often use,

●すやすや
= suyasuya

Ex. すやすや眠っているね。
= Suyasuya nemutte irune.
( You can also use it for adults.)

to be fast asleep

●ぐっすり
= gusssuri

●ぐーぐー ／グーグ
= guuguu

●ぐーすか(casual, comical)
= guusuka

●うとうとする
= utouto suru
= to doze off, to nod off

< Other sleep related words >

●寝床
=nedoko

= bed, place to sleep

●寝具 (formal)
= shingu

= bedding

●布団
= futon

( I think  “futon” has become an international word now.)

Ex. 布団を敷く
= futon wo shiku
(In many areas, they say 布団をひく= futon wo hiku)

Cultural note : Unlike western beds, traditionally we put back 布団 (=futon) in the morning in the closet called 押し入れ(=oshiire) and take them out before you sleep. Thus we can use the bedroom space during the day.

●敷き布団
= shiki buton
= bottom futon, mattress

●掛け布団
= kake buton
= comforter, top cover

●目覚まし時計
= mezamashi dokei
= alarm clock

●毛布
= moufu

= blanket

Ex. 毛布をかける
= moufu wo kakeru

= to cover oneself with a blanket

●枕 = makura = a pillow

When we travel, we often say

Ex. 枕が変わると眠れない。
= Makura ga kawaru to nemurenai

= I can’t sleep when I have a different pillow.

●いびきをかく
= ibiki wo kaku
= to snore

●夢をみる
= yume wo miru
= to dream

Ex. マギーの夢をみた。
= Maggie no yume wo mita
= I had a dream about Maggie.

マギー先生より= Maggie Sensei yori = From Maggie Sensei

今、”美味しい”夢をみているから起こさないで下さい！

= Ima “oishii” yume wo mite iru kara okosanai de kudasai!

= I am having a “delicious” dream right now. Don’t wake me up!