Translation and Meaning of: 夜 - yoru
The expression 「夜」, read as "yoru" in romaji, refers to night in its broadest sense in the Japanese language. The word is often used to indicate the period after sunset and before dawn, when the sky darkens and most people rest. In Japanese culture, the night holds a special and distinct meaning, being associated with both rest and cultural and spiritual activities, such as stargazing or festivities that occur at night.
Etymologically, 「夜」 can be traced through different aspects of the Chinese characters (kanji) that have been incorporated into Japanese. The kanji 「夜」 is composed of the radical 「夕」, which even alone refers to sunset or the arrival of night, combined with the radical 「亦」, which has the connotation of repetition or continuation. This combination enhances the cyclical nature of night, being a moment that continues and repeats daily.
Moreover, the word "yoru" is not limited to merely describing it as a simple time marker. It is rich in cultural meaning. In Japanese literature, night often plays a symbolic role, serving as a metaphor for introspective or mysterious states of mind. Various traditional Japanese stories and poems use night as a backdrop for mystery, beauty, or even the revelation of the inner self.
During events and celebrations, such as the famous summer festivals, the 「夜」 transforms into a vibrant space for gathering and sharing. These nighttime festivities highlight the tension between the tranquil silence associated with rest and the pulsating energy of social activities. Thus, the night is not just a part of the day, but a space rich in possibilities and meanings both in daily life and Japanese culture.
Vocabulary
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Synonyms and similar words
- 夕方 (Yūgata) - Late afternoon, the period that precedes the night.
- 夕暮れ (Yūgure) - Twilight, the moment when the sun sets, a transition between day and night.
- 夜間 (Yakan) - Night period, usually used in formal or technical contexts.
- 暗闇 (Kurayami) - Darkness, absence of light, often associated with night.
- 夜中 (Yonaka) - Midnight, the deepest point of the night.
- 夜更け (Yofuke) - Until dawn, late at night.
- 夜明け (Yoake) - Dawn, the moment when the day begins.
Related words
Romaji: yoru
Kana: よる
Type: noun
L: jlpt-n3, jlpt-n5
Translation / Meaning: afternoon;night
Meaning in English: evening;night
Definition: The hour of light and the hour of darkness after sunset.
Quick Access
- Vocabulary
- Writing
- Sentences
How to Write in Japanese - (夜) yoru
See below a step-by-step guide on how to write the word by hand in Japanese. (夜) yoru:
Example Sentences - (夜) yoru
See below some example sentences:
Ten ten to hoshi ga kagayaku yozora ga utsukushii desu
The night with shining stars dotted is beautiful.
The night sky where the star shines is beautiful.
- 点々と - Dotted
- 星が - stars
- 輝く - shining
- 夜空が - night sky
- 美しいです - pretty
Shinya ni wa shizuka na jikan ga nagareru
during the dawn
Quiet time flows late at night.
- 深夜には - à noite tardia
- 静かな - calm
- 時間が - time
- 流れる - flow
Yonaka ni wa shizuka na fun'iki ga tadayotte iru
During the night
There is a peaceful atmosphere in the middle of the night.
- 夜中には - "midnight"
- 静かな - adjective meaning "silent"
- 雰囲気が - noun that means "atmosphere" or "environment," followed by the particle that indicates the subject of the sentence.
- 漂っている - verb that means "to float" or "to hover," conjugated in the present continuous
Inabikari ga kagayaku yozora wa utsukushii desu
The night the lightning shine is beautiful.
The night sky where the shine shines is beautiful.
- 稲光 (inabikari) - lightning
- が (ga) - subject particle
- 輝く (kagayaku) - shine
- 夜空 (yozora) - night sky
- は (wa) - Topic particle
- 美しい (utsukushii) - beautiful
- です (desu) - Verb to be/estar
Hoshi ga kagayaku yozora wa utsukushii desu
The bright starry night is beautiful.
The night sky where the star shines is beautiful.
- 星が輝く - hoshi ga kagayaku- the stars shine
- 夜空 - yozora- night sky
- は - wa- Topic particle
- 美しい - utsukushii- pretty, beautiful
- です - desu- verb to be in the polite form
Yoru wa shizuka desu
The night is quiet.
The night is quiet.
- 夜 - It means "night" in Japanese.
- は - It is a topic particle indicating that the subject of the sentence is "night".
- 静か - means "quiet" or "calm" in Japanese.
- です - It is a polite way of saying "is" or "are" in Japanese.
Yagu wa neru toki ni hitsuyou na mono desu
Bedding is necessary for sleeping.
It takes hours to sleep.
- 夜具 (yagu) - night equipment
- 寝る (neru) - sleep
- 時 (toki) - Hora
- に (ni) - particle indicating time
- 必要 (hitsuyou) - necessary
- な (na) - grammatical particle
- もの (mono) - thing
- です (desu) - Verb to be/estar
Yoake ga chikadzuite iru
The dawn is approaching.
The dawn is approaching.
- 夜明け - dawn
- が - subject particle
- 近づいて - approaching
- いる - verb to be in the present
- . - Period
Mikazuki ga kagayaku yozora wa utsukushii desu
The night when the crescent moon shines is beautiful.
The night sky where the crescent moon shines is beautiful.
- 三日月 - means "crescent moon" and is represented by the ideogram 三日月.
- が - grammatical particle that indicates the subject of the sentence, in this case, "crescent moon".
- 輝く - verb that means "to shine" and is represented by the ideogram 輝く.
- 夜空 - means "night sky" and is represented by the characters 夜空.
- は - grammatical particle that indicates the topic of the sentence, in this case, "night sky".
- 美しい - adjective that means "beautiful" and is represented by the ideogram 美しい.
- です - auxiliary verb that indicates the polite form of the sentence.
Romanchikku na yakei ga utsukushii desu
The romantic night landscape is beautiful.
The romantic night view is beautiful.
- ロマンチックな - Romantic (adjective meaning "romantic")
- 夜景が - Yakei ga (noun meaning "night view")
- 美しいです - Beautiful (adjective that means "beautiful" and verb that indicates "to be" in the present)
Other Words of this Type: noun
See other words from our dictionary that are also: noun
