Japanese Conversation · Level 60
75 words
Japanese word
一夜
Pronunciation
Romajiichiya
Meaning
- nounone night
Example
その町で一夜を過ごしました。so no machi de ichi ya o su go shi ma shi ta
I spent one night in that town.
More examples
友達と話しながら一夜を明かしました。tomo dachi to hana shi na ga ra ichi ya o a ka shi ma shi ta
We stayed up all night talking with friends.
Core concept
Marks a complete period of one night, focusing on the night as a bounded unit rather than on a specific clock time.
Common phrases
一夜を明かすichi ya o a ka su
stay up all night
一夜を過ごすichi ya o su go su
spend one night
一夜の宿ichi ya no yado
lodging for one night
Similar words
一晩ichiban: A single night spent at a place or used for an activity.
Definition in Japanese
夜から翌朝までを一つのまとまりとして捉えた時間。yoru ka ra yoku asa ma de o hito tsu no ma to ma ri to shi te tora e ta ji kan
Word origin
一夜 (ichiya) is a Japanese compound of 一 (ichi, "one") and 夜 (ya, "night"), so its literal structure is "one night."
Usage tips
- In conversational Japanese, 一夜 (ichiya) is less common than 一晩 (hitoban) for describing a stay, while it remains familiar in set expressions and literary writing.
Other meanings
- overnightadverb
- all nightadverb