醒 (xǐng) · to wake up; to be awake

Meanings

1 to wake up; to be awake
2 to sober up; to come to one's senses

Characters

醒

xǐng

to wake up; to sober up; to realize

酉 (wine vessel) + 星 (star) = sobering up under the stars after drinking.

Examples

HSK 2

我今天早上六点就醒了。

Wǒ jīntiān zǎoshang liù diǎn jiù xǐng le.

I woke up at six this morning.

HSK 2

他喝多了，还没醒过来。

Tā hē duō le, hái méi xǐngguòlái.

He drank too much and hasn't sobered up yet.

HSK 5

别吵，孩子刚醒。

Bié chǎo, háizi gāng xǐng.

Don't be noisy, the child just woke up.

Tips

usage

醒 = to wake up naturally. 叫醒 = to wake someone up. 弄醒 = to accidentally wake someone. 醒过来 = to come to (from unconsciousness).

history

The left side 酉 is the alcohol radical - originally related to sobering up from drink. The right side 星 (star) gives the sound.

Components

radical

酉 yǒu

wine vessel

Left wine-vessel radical, the indexing component (Kangxi 164). Pictures a narrow-mouthed jar for fermented liquid. Marks 醒 as a wine-related character: sobering up, the act of regaining consciousness from drink. Same radical anchors 酒 (wine), 醉 (drunk), 醋 (vinegar), 醬 (sauce).

phonetic

星 xīng

star

Right-side 星 supplies the sound - xīng shifts to xǐng with a tone change in the parent. The 'star' image fits poetically: waking from drunken sleep is like the world coming back into focus under starlight. Same xīng/xǐng phonetic series sits behind 腥 (fishy), 惺 (clear-headed).