曙あけぼの

あ

け

ぼ

の

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun

dawn; daybreak; beginning

Literary or poetic word for dawn, often used metaphorically for the beginning of an era or a new stage. In everyday speech, 夜明け is more common.

東ひがしの空そらに曙あけぼの

の

光ひかり

が

差さ

し

始はじ

め

た

。

The light of dawn began to shine in the eastern sky.

新あたらしい時じ代だいの曙あけぼのを感かんじさせる出で来き事ごとだった。

It was an event that heralded the dawn of a new era.

Usage patterns

〈事こと〉の曙あけぼのthe dawn/beginning of ~
明めい治じ維い新しんは近きん代だい日本にほんの曙あけぼのだった。
The Meiji Restoration was the dawn of modern Japan.
曙あけぼのの光ひかりthe light of dawn
曙あけぼのの光ひかりが山やま々やまを照てらした。
The light of dawn lit up the mountains.
曙あけぼのを迎むかえるto greet the dawn (of a new era)
新あたらしい時じ代だいの曙あけぼのを迎むかえた。
We greeted the dawn of a new era.

Kanji

曙dawn, daybreak

Related words

夜よ明あけN3
夜明け is the plain, everyday word for dawn, while 曙 is a literary word that often carries a poetic or metaphorical sense of a new beginning.
黎れい明めい
黎明 is a formal, often abstract term used especially for the 'dawn' of an era or movement, whereas 曙 keeps a more visual, sky-at-daybreak image even when used metaphorically.
明あけ方がたN2
明け方 simply names the time period around dawn in neutral speech, while 曙 is reserved for literary or evocative contexts.
暁あかつき
曙 and 暁 are both poetic words for daybreak, but 曙 emphasizes the faint light just before sunrise while 暁 is slightly broader in literary use.

Opposites

黄昏たそがれN1
黄昏 is the poetic word for dusk or twilight, the natural opposite of 曙's dawn, and both are often used metaphorically for the end versus the start of something.

Word family

曙あけぼの色いろ
salmon pink; pink with a yellow tinge
アケボノソウ
Swertia bimaculata; felwort species
アケボノシュスラン
leafy goodyera (Goodyera foliosa)
アケボノチョウチョウウオ
blackback butterflyfish

Written forms

曙あけぼのUsage72%
Standard kanji spelling; the only written form.
あけぼのUsage23%
アケボノUsage5%

Etymology

The exact derivation is uncertain. The kanji 曙 is a phono-semantic compound with 日 (sun) and 署 (phonetic component), conventionally associated with dawn.