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明暗 (めいあん) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

明めい暗あん

め

い

あ

ん

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun

light and darkness; light and shade

Refers to the contrast between light and dark, both literally and figuratively (e.g., fortune and misfortune, clarity and obscurity).

この写しゃ真しんは明めい暗あんのコントラストが美うつくしい。
The contrast between light and dark in this photo is beautiful.
人じん生せいの明めい暗あんを経けい験けんしてきた。
I have experienced the ups and downs of life.

Kanji

明bright, light
暗darkness, disappear, shade

Similar words

光ひかりと影かげ
More concrete, often used for literal light and shadow, while 明暗 can carry a broader, more abstract contrast.

Etymology

Compound of 明 (bright, light) and 暗 (dark, darkness). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word has been used in Japanese for centuries to express the duality of light and dark.