深夜
Meaning in Englishlate at night
Animated kanji stroke order
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Word context
What it means
What does 深夜 mean? It designates the late-night period after midnight and before dawn, a stretch of time when urban life quiets and activities become sparse; it is used to describe hours, events, or conditions associated with the late night rather than the early evening.
Main meanings
- late-night hours, typically around midnight to just before dawn, used in schedules, media, and casual reference
- a sense of quiet or stillness associated with the deepest part of the night, sometimes implying privacy or introspection
How to use it
Used in both formal and informal contexts to denote the late-night time window, including schedules, broadcast descriptions, and discussions of nocturnal work or activities; commonly attached to time expressions or compound forms like 深夜帯, and appears in written and spoken Japanese without requiring explanatory context.
Variants and close terms
- 真夜中 (まよなか) mayonaka — midnight
- 夜更け (よふけ) yofuke — late at night, late hours
- 深夜帯 (しんやたい) shin'ya tai — the late-night time block
Composition
- 深 = deep, profound;
- 夜 = night;
- their combination conveys the notion of the night being deep or advanced into the darkest part of the night, i.e., the late-night period
Etymology
深 shin + 夜 ya form a straightforward on'yomi compound; the combined pronunciation shin'ya reflects a common pattern where two kanji read with on readings fuse into a single, stable term for the late-night period.
Word class
Noun (名詞)