HSK · Level 2
130 words
Chinese word
夜
Pronunciation
Pinyinyè
Meaning
- nounnight
Example
我们在夜里散步。wǒ men zài yè lǐ sàn bù
We take a walk at night.
More examples
夜里我睡得很好。yè lǐ wǒ shuì de hěn hǎo
At night, I sleep very well.
Core concept
The whole stretch of darkness after the sun goes down, from evening through the hours before dawn.
Common phrases
夜里yè lǐ
at night
夜晚yè wǎn
night
Similar words
晚上wǎn shàng: The evening and night hours, commonly used in everyday conversation.
夜里yè lǐ: The nighttime period, often used in everyday speech for events happening at night.
夜晚yè wǎn: The whole period of night, often used to convey its mood or surroundings.
Definition in Chinese
夜晚的总称，指日落后至天明前的黑暗时段，也常用于构成表示夜间活动或景象的词语。yè wǎn de zǒng chēng zhǐ rì luò hòu zhì tiān míng qián de hēi àn shí duàn yě cháng yòng yú gòu chéng biǎo shì yè jiān huó dòng huò jǐng xiàng de cí yǔ
Word origin
The character 夜 (yè, "night") is built around 夕 (xī, "evening"), tying its written form to the hours after sunset.
Usage tips
- For English-speaking learners, the useful boundary is sunset rather than bedtime: this word can cover the early evening as well as the hours near dawn.
Other meanings
- eveningnoun
- midnightnoun
- late at nightnoun
Opposites
- 白天bái tiāndaytimenoun