在许多动画片和表情包里，当角色“睡着”时，头顶总会冒出一串“zzz”。
“zzz”是什么意思？
Why do cartoon characters always have "zzz" above their heads when they sleep? While its exact origin is unclear, the symbol has become a universally recognized sign of sleep.
睡觉符号zzz
关于“zzz”这个符号的起源，有以下几种说法：
▌漫画家的创意灵感：打鼾声≈锯木头声
传说美国一位漫画家想描绘人物“打呼噜”的状态，但苦于找不到合适的表达方式。 这时，有人发现，人睡着时发出的鼾声，类似于锯木头时发出的z-z-z-z，于是，漫画家便尝试用“zzz”来表现睡觉打呼噜的声音。
Several theories attempt to explain its popularity. One suggests comic artists borrowed "zzz" to imitate the sound of snoring.
▌字母寓意+视觉联想：Z≈睡觉的蜷缩姿态
Z是26个英文字母中的最后一个字母，而睡觉是一天中的“最后一个动作”，此外，字母Z的折线形状像人蜷着身体入睡的轮廓，所以综合延展便成了zzz。
Another links the letter "Z" to sleep because it is the last letter of the alphabet and resembles a curled-up sleeping figure.
▌词汇关联：睡觉单词“含Z量”多
英语表达中和“睡觉”相关的词汇，多数含有字母“Z”。如：snooze（打盹）、doze（小睡）、zizz（瞌睡），还有俚语表达：catch some Z's / catch some zzzs=睡一会儿。
Others point out that many English words related to sleep, including snooze, doze and zizz, contain the letter "z". Informal expressions such as catch some Z's also reinforce this association.
图源：《菜鸟老警》
无论以上哪种说法，如今的zzz已成为无数人心照不宣的睡觉表达，甚至还被正式收录进了词典，拥有了“官方身份”！
Whatever its origin, "zzz" is now so widely understood that it has even been included in dictionaries.
图源：剑桥词典
“睡觉”相关表达
了解完zzz相关的起源，再来一起看看有关“睡觉”的英文表达吧！
▌hit the sack/hay 上床睡觉
It's almost midnight; I'm going to hit the sack.
快半夜了，我要去睡觉了。
▌out like a light 秒睡
As soon as he lay down on the sofa, he was out like a light.
他一躺在沙发上，就倒头睡着了。
▌toss and turn 翻来覆去睡不着
I tossed and turned all night because of the noisy neighbor.
因为邻居太吵，我整晚都翻来覆去睡不着。
其他可以直接使用的语句表达：
I'm drifting/nodding off.
我快睡着了。
I need a kip.
我得打个盹儿。
I could do with a nap.
我很想小睡一会儿。
I can barely keep my eyes open.
我困得睁不开眼。
以上，你学会了吗？你还知道哪些“睡觉”相关的英语表达，评论区一起聊聊！
来源：外研社UNIPUS
跟着China Daily
精读英语新闻
“无痛”学英语，每天20分钟就够！
热门跟贴