A wooden bed inside a house: 广 plus 木.
广 gives the house or shelter cover. 木 gives the wood. The old picture is simple: a wooden sleeping piece under a roof. No wild story needed.
广 house or shelter 木 wood, tree
床
Common Usage & Traps
- 床 — bed
- 床上 — on the bed
- 床下 — under the bed
- 大床 — big bed
- 小床 — small bed
- 我的床 — my bed
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在床睡觉在床上睡觉You sleep on the bed, not just at bed. Chinese needs 上 after 床 when you mean physically on top of it.
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我床睡觉我在床上睡觉Bare 床 cannot sit between the doer and the verb. Add 在 and 上 to show location.
What is the difference between 起床 and 起来?
起床 means out of bed; 起来 just means up from lying or sitting.
起床 is locked to the bed. If you are still in bed scrolling WeChat, you have not 起床 yet. 起来 is broader. You can 起来 from a chair, the floor, or even from a bad mood. A lazy Sunday where you sit up but do not get out? You 起来 but you did not 起床.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Getting out of bed | 我七点起床。 | 我七点起来。 (if you mean out of bed) |
| Standing up from a chair | 他从椅子上起来。 | 他从椅子上起床。 |
Do you say 在床 or 在床上?
Always say 在床上. Bare 床 sounds like you are next to the bed, not on it.
Location words in Chinese usually need a tail like 上, 里, or 下. 在床上 means on the bed. 在床 alone sounds clipped, like saying I am at bed instead of I am on the bed. Same pattern as 在桌子上 and 在手机里.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Lying on the bed | 他在床上睡觉。 | 他在床睡觉。 |
| Under the bed | 猫在床下。 | 猫在床。 |
Why is it 一张床 and not 一个床?
张 is the measure word for flat, spread-out things, and a bed is exactly that.
Chinese groups objects by shape and feel. 张 covers flat surfaces you spread out: paper, tables, tickets, beds. 个 is the emergency default, but 一个床 sounds like a tourist pointing at furniture. Booking a hotel? 一张大床 means one big bed; 两张床 means two beds.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| One bed | 一张床 | 一个床 |
| Two beds | 两张床 | 两个床 |
| A big bed | 一张大床 | 一个大床 |
Appears in Stories 2 stories
Step through a full day—from morning routines to bedtime—and pick up practical phrases for telling time and talking about your own schedule with a typical Chinese rhyme.
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早上六点半， 起床 吃早饭。
Follow a day from waking at six-thirty to coming home at eight, then leap across days, months, and years. This simple story helps you practice speaking about routines and life changes with clear time words.
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早上六点半 起床 。
Questions & Discussion 0 questions
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