What does “hirune” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “hirune” to mean ‘nap’ in Japanese. Very simple. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “hirune” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “hirune”
Let me start with the definition and meaning as follows.
- hirune – 昼寝 (ひるね) : a noun meaning ‘nap’ in Japanese.
Native speakers use this noun to mean ‘nap’ in Japanese. Later, I will explain how to say “take a nap” in Japanese with this noun.
The definition and meaning are very simple and clear, I think. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
“Hirune” in kanji
The kanji expression of “hirune” consists of the following two characters:
- 昼 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘midday’ or ‘daytime’ in Japanese. This kanji can also be found in other words like “ohirugohan“.
- 寝 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘sleep’.
From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “hirune” literally means ‘daytime sleep’ in Japanese. This kanji concept seems to be completely in line with the meaning.
When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about meanings of words they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “hirune” through the detailed kanji check above. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “to take a nap” in Japanese
kare wa tokidoki hirune wo suru – 彼は時々昼寝をする (かれはときどきひるねをする)
He sometimes takes a nap.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kare” to make the subject word in the sentence.
- tokidoki – 時々 (ときどき) : an adverb of frequency, meaning ‘sometimes’ in Japanese.
- wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “hirune” to make the object word in the sentence.
- suru – する : a verb meaning ‘to do’, ‘to perform’, or such in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “hirune”. In this example, it works as a part of the commonly-used expression, “hirune wo suru”, which means ‘to take a nap’ in Japanese. As these three words suggest, the original meaning of the expression is more like ‘to do a nap’, but it’s normally translated as ‘to take a nap’. Anyway, when we want to say “nap” in Japanese, “hirune” is a very good option.
Example #2: another usage of “hirune”
watashi mo yoku hirune wo shi masu – 私もよく昼寝をします (わたしもよくひるねをします)
I often take a nap, too.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- mo – も : a binding particle making the subject word or the object word in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘also’, ‘as well’, or ‘too’. In the example, this works after “watashi” to make the subject word in the sentence with adding the meaning of ‘too’. Learn more about the phrase, “watashi mo“.
- yoku – よく : an adverb of frequency, meaning ‘often’ in Japanese.
- shi – し : one conjugation of the verb, “suru”, which has been explained in the last example. In this example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- masu – ます : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese masu form. In the example, this is used after “shi” to make it sound polite.
This is another typical usage of “hirune”. In this example, it works as a part of the conjugated expression, “hirune wo shi masu”, which means ‘to take a nap’ politely in Japanese.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “hirune” and its kanji expression in detail. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- hirune – 昼寝 (ひるね) : a noun meaning ‘nap’ in Japanese. These two kanji characters mean ‘daytime’ and ‘sleep’ respectively, so this noun literally means ‘daytime sleep’ in Japanese. This kanji concept seems to be completely in line with the meaning.
- hirune wo suru – 昼寝をする (ひるねをする) : a commonly-used expression meaning ‘to take a nap’ in Japanese. These three words literally mean ‘to do a nap’ in Japanese, but normally this expression is translated as just ‘to take a nap’.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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