to sleep

to sleep — 慣用語

1. used to describe the act of helping someone fall asleep through gentle, comforti

1.慣用語B1
釋義

哄睡

用輕柔方式讓他人入睡

used to describe the act of helping someone fall asleep through gentle, comforting actions such as singing softly, rocking rhythmically, or reading a quiet story.

例句

Anjali sang a soft lullaby to her baby brother to rock him to sleep.

Anjali 唱了一首柔和的搖籃曲給她的弟弟聽，哄他入睡。

rock/sing + someone + to sleep pattern

The tired father rocked his crying baby to sleep in an old wooden chair.

疲憊的父親在舊木椅上輕輕搖著哭泣的寶寶，哄他睡著。

常見搭配
  • rock someone to sleep
  • sing someone to sleep
  • read someone to sleep
  • put someone to sleep
同義詞
  • lull

    closer to calming or soothing than actively helping someone fall asleep; more literary and less daily-life than the phrase 'to sleep'

  • settle

    broader — can mean calming a child without implying the goal of actual sleep

反義詞
  • wake

    opposite action; waking someone up rather than helping them fall asleep

文法句型

rock/sing/read + someone + to sleep

put + someone + to sleep

用法筆記

This sense always appears after a transitive verb such as rock, sing, read, or put. The person being comforted is the object of that verb, followed by 'to sleep'. It is not used as a standalone infinitive of purpose.

常見錯誤

I read a story to sleep my baby.
I read a story to put my baby to sleep.
The verb 'sleep' cannot take an object directly; use a verb like 'rock', 'sing', 'read', or 'put' before 'to sleep'.