Chinese word

黑夜

Pronunciation

Pinyinhēi yè

Meaning

  • nounnight

Example

黑夜里我们看不见路。hēi yè lǐ wǒ men kàn bú jiàn lù

We cannot see the road at night.

Illustration for 黑夜 (night)

More examples

经过努力，他们终于走出黑夜，重获希望。jīng guò nǔ lì tā men zhōng yú zǒu chū hēi yè chóng huò xī wàng

Through their efforts, they finally emerged from the darkness and regained hope.

Core concept

A stretch of night when darkness fills the surroundings and ordinary visibility nearly disappears.

Common phrases

  • 黑夜笼罩hēi yè lǒng zhào

    darkness envelops

  • 走出黑夜zǒu chū hēi yè

    emerge from darkness

Similar words

晚上wǎn shàng: The usual conversational term for the evening period after sunset and before bedtime.
夜里yè lǐ: A time or time period that falls during the night.
夜晚yè wǎn: The hours of darkness lasting from sunset through the following morning.
夜间yè jiān: The night period from sunset to the next morning, often used in writing.

Definition in Chinese

夜间光线几乎完全消失的时段，四周一片黑暗，能见度很低的夜晚。yè jiān guāng xiàn jī hū wán quán xiāo shī de shí duàn sì zhōu yí piàn hēi àn néng jiàn dù hěn dī de yè wǎn

Word origin

黑 (hēi, "black") + 夜 (yè, "night") forms a transparent compound for a night defined by deep darkness.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, this word is most natural when darkness itself matters, such as when poor visibility or a tense scene is being described.

Other meanings

  • late nightnoun
  • dark nightnoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word