The kanji 眠 primarily means "to sleep," "sleep," or "to doze." It encapsulates the state of rest, unconsciousness, and the natural physiological process of sleep. It represents the concept of being in a state of repose and inactivity, essential for physical and mental restoration.

・On-yomi (音読み): ・ミン (min) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ・ねむ-る (nemu-ru): to sleep ・ねむ-い (nemu-i): sleepy

⚫︎眠い Translation: sleepy ⚫︎睡眠 Translation: sleep ⚫︎昼寝をする Translation: to take a nap

The kanji 眠 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいいもじ). ⚫︎The semantic component is 目 (め), meaning "eye." This suggests the physical aspect of sleep, when the eyes are closed. ⚫︎The phonetic component is 民 (みん), which provides the sound of the kanji. ⚫︎The combination of these components conveys the concept of closing one's eyes to fall into a state of sleep, hence the meaning "to sleep".