睡
shuì · HSK 1
sleep
😴 睡 = 目 (eye) + 垂 (droop) — drooping eyes mean sleep
The left radical 目 means eye, and 垂 on the right means to droop or hang down. Together: eyes drooping = falling asleep. The reading shuì rhymes with English 'sway', like a head swaying as it nods off.
睡 — eye 目 + drooping 垂
睡 is a semantic compound: 目 (eye) signals the meaning, while 垂 (to droop, hang down) suggests eyelids falling. Together they depict drooping eyelids, i.e. dozing off. The original sense was nodding off while sitting; it later broadened to mean sleep in general.