The Chinese word 沉睡 (chénshuì), meaning "to be sound asleep" or "to be in a deep slumber," is a compound formed by combining two meaningful characters: 沉 (chén), which conveys the idea of sinking, submerging, or being heavy, and 睡 (shuì), which means to sleep. Together, they create a vivid metaphorical meaning; 沉 modifies 睡 not literally but intensively, suggesting a sleep so profound that one is as if immersed or sunk into it, emphasizing a state of unconsciousness that is deep, heavy, and difficult to be roused from. This formation follows the common Chinese lexical pattern where an adjective or stative verb (沉) precedes and descriptively modifies a primary verb (睡) to specify a particular manner or degree of the action.