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暮夜 (ぼや) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

暮ぼ夜や

ぼ

や

Meanings

1

noun

Literary or poetic term for night or evening; not used in everyday conversation. In modern Japanese, 夜 (よる) or 晩 (ばん) are the standard words.

暮ぼ夜やの帳とばりが下おりる。
The veil of night descends.
彼かれは暮ぼ夜やに紛まぎれて姿すがたを消けした。
He disappeared under cover of night.

Kanji

暮evening, twilight, season's end
夜night, evening

Similar words

夜よる
Standard word for 'night', used in all registers. 暮夜 is a rare literary synonym.
晩ばん
Common word for 'evening'. 暮夜 can also mean 'evening' but is much more formal and poetic.

Etymology

Compound of 暮 (くれ, 'dusk') and 夜 (よ, 'night'), with the reading ぼや likely derived from the on'yomi of the characters. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.