黄昏たそがれ

also: こうこん

た

そ

が

れ

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

noun

dusk; twilight

The time of day when the sun has set but it is not yet completely dark; often carries a poetic or slightly nostalgic tone.

黄昏たそがれの空そらが美うつくしい。
The twilight sky is beautiful.
彼かれは黄昏たそがれ時どきに散さん歩ぽするのが好すきだ。
He likes taking a walk at dusk.

2

noun

twilight years; declining years

Metaphorical use referring to the later stage of life, akin to the fading light of dusk.

彼かれは人じん生せいの黄昏たそがれを静しずかに過すごした。
He quietly spent the twilight years of his life.

3

noun

melancholy; wistful nostalgia

colloquial

Only with reading たそがれ

Colloquial use, often in the phrase 黄昏る (tasogareru), describing a state of sentimental melancholy or pensive nostalgia, especially at dusk.

夕ゆう暮ぐれに一人ひとりでいると、なんだか黄昏たそがれちゃうよね。
When you're alone at dusk, you kind of get all wistful, don't you?

Written forms

黄昏Usage63%
- たそがれ
  gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun
  Standard kanji form; the reading たそがれ is a jukujikun (special kanji reading).
- こうこん
  Rare on'yomi reading; mostly literary or formal.
たそがれUsage37%
gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially for the colloquial sense.
こうこん

Kanji

黄yellow
昏dark, evening, dusk

Similar words

夕ゆう暮ぐれ
夕暮れ is a more common, everyday word for dusk or evening twilight, without the poetic or melancholic nuance of 黄昏.
薄はく暮ぼ
薄暮 is a formal or literary term for dusk, often used in weather forecasts or official contexts, lacking the emotional connotations of 黄昏.

Etymology

The reading たそがれ is a jukujikun derived from the classical phrase 誰そ彼 (tasokare, 'who is that?'), referring to the dim light at dusk when it becomes difficult to recognize faces. The kanji 黄昏 were later applied for their meaning ('yellow' and 'dim'), though the exact historical derivation is uncertain.