夜中

Chinese
night
 
middle; centre; within
middle; centre; within; among; in; while (doing sth); during; China; Chinese; hit (the mark)
simp. and trad.
(夜中)		 夜 中

Pronunciation

Noun

夜中

  1. (literary) midnight

Synonyms

Japanese

Etymology 1
Kanji in this term
夜 中
よ
Grade: 2		 なか
Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Compound of 夜 (yo, “night”) +‎ 中 (naka, “middle”).[1][2]

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) よなか​ [yònákáꜜ] (Odaka – [3])[2][3]
  • IPA(key): [jo̞na̠ka̠]

Noun

夜(よ)中(なか) • (yonaka) 

  1. late at night, the middle of the night
  2. midnight
    Synonym: 真夜中 (mayonaka)
Usage notes

The midnight sense of specifically at 12:00 AM is more commonly expressed by the term 真夜中 (mayonaka).

Derived terms

Etymology 2
Kanji in this term
夜 中
や
Grade: 2		 ちゅう
Grade: 1
on’yomi

Apparently from Middle Chinese 夜中 (MC yaeH trjuwng).

Pronunciation

Noun

夜(や)中(ちゅう) • (yachū) 

  1. nighttime, the night, the period of time during the night

Etymology 3
Kanji in this term
夜 中
よ
Grade: 2		 じゅう
Grade: 1
yutōyomi

Compound of 夜 (yo, “night”) +‎ 中 (jū, “during, throughout”).[1][2]

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) よじゅう [yòjúú] (Heiban – [0])[2]
  • IPA(key): [jo̞ʑɨᵝː]

Noun

夜(よ)中(じゅう) • (yojū) ←よぢゆう (yodyuu)?

  1. the entire night, the period of time throughout the night

References
  1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
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