Chinese Conversation · Level 9
90 words
Chinese word
暗
Pronunciation
Pinyinàn
Meaning
- adjectivedark
Example
天色越来越暗了。tiān sè yuè lái yuè àn le
The sky is getting darker and darker.
More examples
光线很暗，看不清楚字。guāng xiàn hěn àn kàn bù qīng chǔ zì
The light is so dim that I cannot make out the words.
Core concept
Light is too weak for clear sight, leaving a scene dim and hard to make out.
Common phrases
光线很暗guāng xiàn hěn àn
dim light
天色暗了tiān sè àn le
darkening sky
路上很暗lù shàng hěn àn
dark road
Similar words
黑hēi: Appearing nearly black because the color is very deep and reflects almost no light.
昏暗hūn àn: Having very weak light, making the surroundings hard to see and somewhat gloomy.
Definition in Chinese
光线很弱，使物体看不清楚的状态。guāng xiàn hěn ruò shǐ wù tǐ kàn bù qīng chǔ de zhuàng tài
Word origin
暗 (àn, "dark") is a phono-semantic character in which 日 (rì, "sun/day") points to the light-related meaning and 音 (yīn, "sound") supplies the pronunciation.
Usage tips
- English speakers may associate dark first with a color, but this everyday use focuses on the amount of light and how clearly objects can be seen.
Other meanings
- dimadjective
- gloomyadjective
Opposites
- 明亮míng liàngbrightadjective
- 光亮guāng liàngbrightadjective