Catnap...

Oh, After I wrote my last post I remembered another word we use when talking about sleep:

a catnap

It means a short nap, a light sleep or doze. The key information here is that it is SHORT but may happen MANY TIMES. So you are just like a cat, they take a nap, get up walk around a bit and then sleep some more. ^_- We usually use it with the verb take, to take a catnap.

I just took a catnap, I needed to rest.

Another word you might hear is shuteye. Which is usually used with the verb get and some, to get some shuteye. According to thefreedictionary.com it is British slang for sleep but you will often hear it in American TV shows or movies so I think it is pretty commonly used.

You look tired, why don't you go get some shuteye?

Come to think of it, I usually hear to get some shuteye being used as a suggestion or question~!

Did you get any shuteye?

I think I see this expression alot in novels I read that are set in the military(navy, army, etc).

Well I hope you enjoyed this little lesson, have a nice day~!

Phil

I slept like a log last night.

Hey everyone so here's one last quick idioms lesson for the month. When you want to say you slept really well you can say:

I slept like a log.

Now what is a log? In Japanese, a log is: 丸木 (まるき).

And when you sleep like a log, you slept really deeply and soundly without waking up till morning. You didn't move at all just like a fallen log. In Japanese, to sleep like a log is:

グースカ or 寝付がいい (ねつきがいい)

Now, when you CAN'T sleep well we usually say:

I was tossing and turning all night.

Meaning you couldn't fall asleep and you kept moving around in your bed so you slept badly. Which in Japanese would be:

輾転反側 (てんてんはんそく) or

寝相が悪い (ねぞうがわるい)


While being unable to sleep well is:

寝苦しい (ねぐるしい)

So here are some example sentences:

A: Did you sleep well?

B: Yeah, I slept like a log~! I feel great!

Summers in Japan are too hot! I spend the whole night tossing and turning and feel terrible in the morning! Maybe I need to buy a new air conditioner...

So I think that is it for March, see you in April for some more mini-lessons!

Phil