起床 (qǐ chuáng) literally means 'to rise from bed' — 起 (qǐ) means 'to rise, to get up', and 床 (chuáng) means 'bed'. Together, they form a common verb meaning 'to get out of bed' or 'to wake up and rise'. It describes the physical act of leaving one’s bed after sleeping, not just waking up mentally. Unlike the English 'wake up', which focuses on regaining consciousness, 起床 emphasizes the bodily action of getting up — you can be awake for minutes before you actually 起床.

This verb is used daily in routines, schedules, and conversations about morning habits. It commonly appears with time expressions (e.g., 六点起床), aspect particles like 了 (qǐ chuáng le), or as part of compound verbs (e.g., 起床后 'after getting up'). It’s neutral in register — appropriate for both casual speech and formal writing — and almost always appears intransitively (no object required). It does not take the 把 construction and is rarely used in passive form.