Sleep is a metaphor for death (John 11:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–15). The child is not dead because Jesus will resurrect her. She is only asleep and will soon "wake up" and continue her life. The same Greek word translated here as asleep refers to death in Matthew 27:52; Acts 7:60; 13:36; 1 Corinthians 15:6, 18, 20, 51; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–15.