眠(ねむ)れる

ねむれる
verb (ichidan)
to be able to sleep; sleeping
自動詞 intransitivehealth
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present眠(ねむ)れる眠(ねむ)れない
Present polite眠(ねむ)れます眠(ねむ)れません
Past眠(ねむ)れた眠(ねむ)れなかった
Past polite眠(ねむ)れました眠(ねむ)れませんでした
て form眠(ねむ)れて眠(ねむ)れなくて
ている present眠(ねむ)れている眠(ねむ)れていない
ている polite眠(ねむ)れています眠(ねむ)れていません
ている past眠(ねむ)れていた眠(ねむ)れていなかった
ている past polite眠(ねむ)れていました眠(ねむ)れていませんでした
Conditional ば眠(ねむ)れれば眠(ねむ)れなければ
Conditional たら眠(ねむ)れたら眠(ねむ)れなかったら
Volitional眠(ねむ)れよう—
Volitional polite眠(ねむ)れましょう—
Causative眠(ねむ)れさせる眠(ねむ)れさせない
1. to be able to sleep; can sleep
The potential form of 眠(ねむ)る, indicating the ability to fall asleep or sleep well.
I was able to sleep well last night.
I drank too much coffee and can't sleep.
Some people can't sleep unless the environment is quiet.
2. sleeping; dormant; lying dormant
Used as an attributive adjective (連体形(れんたいけい)) meaning "sleeping" or "dormant," as in 眠(ねむ)れる森(もり) (sleeping forest).
眠(ねむ)れる森(もり)の美女(びじょ)。
Sleeping Beauty (literally: the sleeping forest's beauty).
There are still many dormant resources in this region.
A trigger is needed to awaken dormant talent.

Usage

Sense 1 is the potential form of 眠(ねむ)る and is very common in everyday speech, especially in the negative (眠(ねむ)れない — can't sleep).

Sense 2 is a literary usage where 眠(ねむ)れる functions as an attributive form meaning "sleeping" or "dormant." This is the classical Japanese 已然形(いぜんけい) (realis form) used as a modifier, most famously seen in 眠(ねむ)れる森(もり)の美女(びじょ) (Sleeping Beauty).

Common collocations