Usage patterns 〈 時とき 〉 未み 明めい used after a date to mean 'in the early hours of that day'
There was a fire in Tokyo in the early hours of the 3rd.
未み 明めい に 〈 事こと 〉 が 起お きる for something (an incident, disaster, etc.) to occur before dawn
A big earthquake occurred in the early hours before dawn.
Related words 未明 refers to the dark period before dawn, typically midnight to 3 a.m., while 明け方 refers to the time when the sky starts to lighten toward sunrise.
夜明け emphasizes the moment day breaks and light appears, whereas 未明 focuses on the still-dark hours just before that happens.
未明 refers to the pre-dawn hours (around 3–5 AM), whereas 早朝 covers the period just after dawn into the early morning.
Don't confuse with 深夜 covers the late-night hours generally (roughly 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.), while 未明 specifically means the dark hours right before dawn, often used in news reports about early-morning incidents.
未明 (the hours just before dawn) is easily mixed up with 不明 (unclear/unknown) despite sharing similar kanji, but the meanings are completely unrelated.
Etymology Compound of 未 (mi, 'not yet') and 明 (mei, 'bright/dawn'), literally 'not yet bright'. The reading is on'yomi.
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