Chinese word

今晚

Pronunciation

Pinyinjīn wǎn

Meaning

  • nountonight

Example

今晚我有事，不能去。jīn wǎn wǒ yǒu shì bù néng qù

I have something to do tonight, so I can't go.

Illustration for 今晚 (tonight)

More examples

我们今晚去看电影吧。wǒ men jīn wǎn qù kàn diàn yǐng ba

Let's go watch a movie tonight.

Core concept

The current day's evening window, including what happens during it.

Common phrases

  • 今晚吃饭jīn wǎn chī fàn

    have dinner tonight

  • 今晚看电影jīn wǎn kàn diàn yǐng

    watch a movie tonight

  • 今晚有空jīn wǎn yǒu kòng

    be free tonight

Similar words

今天晚上jīn tiān wǎn shàng: The evening and night of the current day, in a casual spoken expression.
今夜jīn yè: The current night's period, with a somewhat written or literary tone.
夜里yè lǐ: The nighttime period, covering any part of the night from evening until morning.
深夜shēn yè: The very late part of the night, around midnight or after.

Definition in Chinese

指今天晚上的那段时间或发生在今天晚上的事情，常用于口语的时间表述。zhǐ jīn tiān wǎn shàng de nà duàn shí jiān huò fā shēng zài jīn tiān wǎn shàng de shì qíng cháng yòng yú kóu yǔ de shí jiān biǎo shù

Word origin

今晚 (jīnwǎn, "tonight") combines 今 (jīn, "now/today") + 晚 (wǎn, "evening/night") to name the evening belonging to the current day.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, a time expression often comes before the action with no preposition, so plans and availability are framed early in the sentence.

Opposites

Word lists with this word