zzz

English

Etymology

Conventionalized sound of snoring.

Pronunciation

• (as spelled) IPA^(key): [zːːː]
• (imitation of snoring) [ʩ𐞪] and similar

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Interjection

zzz

1. A snoring sound, implying that somebody is asleep.

Translations

Translations

• Catalan: zzz (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 噶 (got⁴, goet⁴)

  Mandarin: 呼嚕／呼噜 (zh) (hūlū)

• Dutch: zzz (nl)
• French: zzz (fr)
• German: schnarch (de); chrrr (representing [χː], the usual onomatopoeia, but less common as a spelling; English zzz may also be understood by some)
• Italian: zzz (it)
• Japanese: すやすや (ja) (suyasuya), ズズズ (zuzuzu)
• Portuguese: zzz
• Romanian: sfor (ro)
• Russian: хррр (xrrr) (colloquial, not used in books; understood, but used less frequently than zzz)
• Swedish: zzz, snark
• Vietnamese: khò (vi), khò khò (vi)

Verb

zzz (third-person singular simple present zzzs, present participle zzzing, simple past and past participle zzzed)

1. (onomatopoeia) To sleep or snore.
   • 1909, H. G. Wells, Tono-Bungay‎^[1], page 461:

     He lay back on his pillow, made a faint zzzing sound that ceased, and presently and quite quietly he died — greatly comforted by my assurance.

   • 1996, Charlotte Abrams, The Silents‎^[2], page 42:

     He zzzed for a long time, bobbing back and forth, and then he let us go, pointing to two empty seats across the aisle and motioning for us to sit down.

Related terms

• catch some z's
• zed
• z's or Z's
• zzzing
• zzzs

Portuguese

Interjection

zzz

1. zzz (sleeping)
2. (Internet slang) indicates that one doesn't care about or agree with what is being said

Romanian

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

zzz

1. buzz (sound made by some insects' flight)

Spanish

Interjection

zzz

1. zzz (sleeping)
2. (Internet slang) Indicates that one doesn't care about or agree with what is being said because is boring.