夜不成眠

yèbùchéngmián

idiom

Meanings

1 unable to sleep at night
2 to lie awake all night

Characters

achieve / become

Examples

她担心考试，夜不成眠。

Tā dānxīn kǎoshì, yè bù chéng mián.

She was so worried about the exam she couldn't sleep at night.

这件事让他夜不成眠。

Zhè jiàn shì ràng tā yè bù chéng mián.

The matter kept him awake at night.

Tips

usage

Use 夜不成眠 for sleeplessness caused by a specific worry or emotional weight, not for medical insomnia (失眠 shīmián). The phrase implies a reason.

Stroke Order

夜 yè

不 bù

成 chéng

眠 mián