宵
wee hours, evening, early night
Readings
On'yomi
- ショウ
Kun'yomi
- よい
Meaning
宵 centers on the early part of the night: the evening hours just after sunset, including the wee hours before midnight.
Most common words using 宵
20 of 29- 今宵こよい
this evening; tonight
- 宵よい
evening; early night hours
- 宵闇よいやみ
dusk; twilight
- 宵越しよいごし
(kept) overnight
- 宵の口よいのくち
nightfall; early evening
- 宵山よいやま
small festival on the eve of the main festival (esp. of the Gion festival)
- 一宵いっしょう
one evening; one night
- 元宵げんしょう
night of the 15th day of the first month in the lunar calendar
- 元宵節げんしょうせつ
lantern festival, held on the night of the 15th day of the first month in the lunar calendar
- 半宵はんしょう
midnight
- 名の無い星は宵から出るなのないほしはよいからでる
the worst goes foremost; those one eagerly await will not arrive first
- 大待宵草おおまつよいぐさ
large-flowered evening primrose (Oenothera glazioviana)
- 宵っぱりよいっぱり
night owl; nighthawk; late bird
- 宵の明星よいのみょうじょう
evening star; Vesper; Hesperus; Venus in the evening sky
- 宵寝よいね
going to bed early
- 宵待草よいまちぐさ
evening primrose
- 宵月よいづき
evening moon; moon that can only be seen in the early hours of the night (esp. from the 2nd to the 7th of the eight month)
- 宵月夜よいづきよ
moonlit evening
- 宵祭りよいまつり
small festival held the night before the main festival; eve of a festival
- 宵積みよいづみ
goods loaded in the afternoon for delivery the following morning
Study
Etymology
宵 combines 宀 (roof) with 肖, which likely contributes the sound and carries a sense of smallness or resemblance. The character suggests the small hours under a roof, i.e., evening at home.
Meaning mnemonic
Under a roof 宀, the small 肖 hours of evening settle in. Picture a cozy room as night falls, marking the early night.
Reading mnemonic
For ショウ, imagine a show starting in the early evening: show -> ショウ, and the curtain rises just as the wee hours begin.