v.
to get out of bed; to get up
起床
to get out of bed; to get up
Literally 'rise from bed'. Marks the physical transition from sleeping to standing up and starting the morning.
Common Usage & Traps
- 早上起床 — get up in the morning
- 六点起床 — get up at six
- 起床吃早饭 — get up and eat breakfast
- 还没起床 — still haven't gotten up
- 起床了 — got up / getting up
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我起床六点我六点起床Time words go before 起床, not after it.
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我昨天不起床我昨天没起床Use 没 for a past event that didn't happen; 不 sounds like a refusal or habit.
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起床早饭起床吃早饭起床 can't take 早饭 directly; add the action 吃.
Why do Chinese speakers say 我六点起床, not 我起床六点?
Put the time before 起床: 我六点起床, not 我起床六点.
Chinese word order usually puts the time before the action. So 六点 comes before 起床. If you put 六点 after 起床, native ears hear broken word order. You can also say 我在六点起床, but everyday speech prefers 我六点起床.
“早上六点半，起床吃早饭。” (At 6:30 in the morning, I get up and eat breakfast.)
“早上六点半，起床吃早饭。” (At 6:30 in the morning, I get up and eat breakfast.)
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Time before verb | 我六点起床。 | 我起床六点。 |
| Time with 在 | 我在六点起床。 | 我起床在六点。 |
Can 了 go inside 起床, as in 我起了床?
Yes, 我起了床 works; 了 can sit between 起 and 床.
Some two-character action words can split apart. 起床 is one of them, so 我起了床 is fine. It means I got up. In daily talk, 我起床了 is more common. 我起了床 sounds a bit more like telling a story.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Statement with 了 | 我起了床。 | 我没起了床。 |
| Command | 起床了！ | 起了床！ |
Why is 我昨天没起床 right, but 我昨天不起床 wrong?
Use 没起床 for a past event that didn't happen; 不起床 means won't get up.
没 is for events that did not happen. So 我昨天没起床 means I didn't get up yesterday. 不 is for habits, rules, or refusals. 我昨天不起床 sounds like I refused to get up yesterday as a general choice. Also don't add 了 after 没.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Past event | 我昨天没起床。 | 我昨天不起床。 |
| 没 with 了 | 我昨天没起床。 | 我昨天没起床了。 |
Appears in Stories 2 stories
Real context sentences across different daily scenarios and graded readings.
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 。
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。
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