废寝忘食 (fèiqǐnwàngshí) · to forget food and sleep

废寝忘食 (fèiqǐnwàngshí) means “to forget food and sleep; to work very hard”. It is written with 4 characters: 废 (to terminate) + 寝 (to sleep) + 忘 (to forget) + 食 (food). It is an old HSK 6 word (HSK 2.0).

How 废寝忘食 is built

The characters

废 fèi · to terminate

What 废 is made of

广guǎng — broad
- 丶 — dot
- 厂chǎng — cliff
发fā — to issue
- 又yòu — and

寝 qǐn · to sleep

What 寝 is made of

宀 — roof
- 丶 — dot
- 冖mì — cover
丬qiáng — half of tree trunk
- 冫bīng — ice
  - 丶 — dot
- 丨 — vertical stroke
彐jì — snout
- 二 — two strokes
  - 一 — horizontal stroke
  - 一 — horizontal stroke
冖mì — cover
又yòu — and

忘 wàng · to forget

What 忘 is made of

亡wáng — death
- 亠tóu — lid
  - 丶 — dot
  - 一 — horizontal stroke
心xīn — heart

Origin hint: 心 gives the meaning, 亡 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

食 shí · food

What 食 is made of

人rén — person
良liáng — good
- 丶 — dot
- 艮gěn — blunt

Origin hint: A dish of food 良 with a lid on top 人 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

Example sentences

他为了写这本书废寝忘食。Tā wèile xiě zhè běn shū fèiqǐnwàngshí.He forgot food and sleep while writing this book.

她学习起来常常废寝忘食。Tā xuéxí qǐlai chángcháng fèiqǐnwàngshí.When she studies, she often forgets to eat and sleep.

Questions about 废寝忘食

What does 废寝忘食 mean?

废寝忘食 (fèiqǐnwàngshí) means “to forget food and sleep; to work very hard”.

How do you pronounce 废寝忘食?

废寝忘食 is pronounced fèiqǐnwàngshí.

Which HSK level is 废寝忘食?

废寝忘食 is in Old HSK 6.

Related words

Learn 废寝忘食 with its group

It is part of Old HSK 6 · Group 55: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.

Open the group