Japanese word

西日

Pronunciation

Romajinishibi

Meaning

  • nounafternoon sun

Example

部屋に西日が入ります。heya ni nishi bi ga hai ri ma su

The afternoon sun comes into the room.

Illustration for 西日 (afternoon sun)

More examples

午後になると、窓際の画面が西日で見えにくくなります。go go ni na ru to mado giwa no ga men ga nishi bi de mi e ni ku ku na ri ma su

In the afternoon, the screen by the window becomes hard to see because of the afternoon sun.

Core concept

Describes the warm, low-angle sunlight that comes from the west as the day moves toward evening.

Common phrases

  • 西日を浴びるnishi bi o a bi ru

    bathe in the afternoon sun

  • 西日を避けるnishi bi o sa ke ru

    avoid the afternoon sun

  • 西日に照らされるnishi bi ni te ra sa re ru

    be lit by the afternoon sun

Similar words

日差しhizashi: Sunlight that falls on a place or enters it, regardless of its direction or time.
夕日yūhi: The sun or its light seen in the western sky near sunset.
日光nikkō: Light from the sun that reaches the earth or a surface.

Definition in Japanese

夕方近くに西から差し込む日光。yū gata chika ku ni nishi ka ra sa shi ko mu nik kō

Word origin

西日 (nishibi) is a compound of 西 (nishi, "west") and 日 (hi, "sun"), and hi changes to bi through rendaku.

Usage tips

  • A west-facing room can receive intense 西日 (nishibi) late in the day, so the word commonly appears in discussions of windows and indoor heat.

Other meanings

  • setting sunnoun

Word lists with this word