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夜飯 (やはん) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

夜や飯はん

also: よめし

Meanings

1

noun

dinner; evening meal

archaic

Archaic term for the evening meal; in modern Japanese, 夕食 (ゆうしょく) or 晩ご飯 (ばんごはん) are standard.

古こ文ぶん書しょには「夜や飯はん」と記しるされているが、今いまではほとんど使つかわれない。
In old documents it is written as 夜飯, but it is hardly used today.

Written forms

夜飯
- やはん
  Archaic kanji spelling for the reading やはん; the reading よめし is also possible but rare.
- よめし
よめし
Kana spelling for the reading よめし, which is itself rare and archaic.

Kanji

夜night, evening
飯meal, boiled rice

Similar words

夕ゆう食しょく
Standard modern word for dinner; 夜飯 is archaic and rarely used.
晩ばんご飯はん
Common casual term for dinner; 夜飯 is an archaic equivalent.

Etymology

Compound of 夜 (night) and 飯 (meal). The reading やはん uses the on'yomi of both characters, while よめし uses the kun'yomi of 夜 and the on'yomi of 飯. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.