休眠

xiūmián

verb HSK 7-9 #18,756

Meanings

1 to hibernate
2 to lie dormant

Characters

to rest; to cease

Literally 'rest-sleep' — a deep, prolonged dormancy.

Examples

熊在冬天会进入休眠状态。

Xióng zài dōngtiān huì jìnrù xiūmián zhuàngtài.

Bears enter a state of hibernation in winter.

这座火山已经休眠了几百年。

Zhè zuò huǒshān yǐjīng xiūmián le jǐbǎi nián.

This volcano has been dormant for hundreds of years.

电脑进入了休眠模式。

Diànnǎo jìnrù le xiūmián móshì.

The computer went into sleep mode.

Tips

usage

休眠 works for animals (hibernation), volcanoes (dormant), and computers (sleep/hibernate mode). In tech contexts, it specifically means 'hibernate' (saves state to disk), as opposed to 待机 (dàijī, 'standby').

Stroke Order

休 xiū

眠 mián