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

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.

别吵，孩子刚醒。

Bié chǎo, háizi gāng xǐng.

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

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.

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).