夜よる

also: よ

よ

る

Meanings

Refers broadly to the dark part of the day, from evening into night. It can be used as a noun or adverbially to mean 'at night' or 'in the evening.'

夜よるになると、この道みちは暗くらい。
At night, this road is dark.
夜よる、少すこし散さん歩ぽした。
I took a short walk at night.

noun

dinner; evening meal

Only with reading よる

Casual elliptical use of よる for the evening meal, understood from context as 夜ご飯 or 夕食. This sense is restricted to the reading よる.

今日きょうの夜よるはカレーにしよう。
Let's have curry for dinner tonight.

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Usage patterns

夜よるが明あけるfor night to end; for dawn to break
夜よるが明あけるまで友とも達だちと話はなし続つづけた。
We kept talking with friends until dawn broke.
今日きょうの夜よるtonight (this evening)
今日きょうの夜よるは何なにを食たべる?
What are we having tonight (for dinner)?
夜よるになるfor night to fall; for it to become night
夏なつは夜よるになっても暑あつい。
In summer it's still hot even after night falls.
〈場ば所しょ〉で夜よるを過すごすto spend the night at a place
山やま小ご屋やで夜よるを過すごした。
We spent the night at a mountain hut.
夜よる遅おそくまでuntil late at night
夜よる遅おそくまで仕し事ごとをしていた。
I was working until late at night.

Expressions· 7

夜よるの帳とばりveil of darkness; curtain of night
夜よるの底そこdark of the night; deepest night
夜よるの街まちcity at night; town at night; nighttime streets · nightlife district; drinking district; entertainment area
夜よるの営いとなみsexual intercourse; sex
夜よるのしじまstillness of night; quiet of the night

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明あけない夜よるはないevery night comes to an end; this too shall pass
焼やけ野のの雉夜きぎすよるの鶴つるparents risk everything for their children

Kanji

夜night, evening

Related words· 7

晩ばんN5sense 1
晩 and 夜 both mean night/evening, but 晩 leans toward the time frame around evening meals (e.g. 今晩) while 夜 is the broader, more basic word for the dark hours of the day.
夕ゆう食しょくN3sense 2
夕食 is the clear, formal word for the evening meal, whereas 夜 used to mean 'dinner' is a casual, context-dependent shorthand.
夕ゆう方がたN5sense 1
夕方 refers specifically to the late-afternoon/early-evening period before full darkness, while 夜 covers the night period that follows.
夜や間かんN3
夜 is the everyday word for night, while 夜間 is a more formal term used in official notices and compound words like 夜間営業.

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夜や分ぶんN1
夜 is the plain, everyday word for night, while 夜分 is a more formal or polite term often used in set apologetic phrases.
宵よい
夜 is the general, neutral word for 'night', whereas 宵 poetically refers specifically to the early part of the night just after dusk.
イブニング
夜 is the general, everyday word for night, whereas イブニング carries a stylish or formal nuance and is rarely used alone.

Opposites· 5

昼ひるN5sense 1
昼 means daytime, the direct opposite of 夜 meaning nighttime.
お昼ひるN3
夜 means night, the opposite of the daytime sense of お昼.
朝あさN5
朝 is the early part of the day when it begins, while 夜 is the night, the opposite end of the daily cycle.

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日ひN5
夜 means night, the opposite of 日 in its sense of daytime or daylight.
昼ひる間まN4
夜 is the plain word for night, contrasting with 昼間's daytime.

Word family· 13

夜よる型がた
night owl; nocturnal person
夜よる昼ひる
day and night; around the clock
夜よる用よう
nighttime use; for use at night; overnight
夜よる職しょく
night work (in entertainment or sex industry)
ヨルガオ
moonflower (Ipomoea alba)

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夜よるご飯はん
dinner; evening meal
夜よるの女おんな
street prostitute; streetwalker; lady of the night
夜よるの秋あき
cool late summer night
夜よるの蝶ちょう
hostess; nightclub hostess
夜よる出しゅっ発ぱつ
evening departure; night departure

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Written forms

夜Usage100%
- よる
  Standard common spelling and reading for the ordinary word meaning night or evening.
- よ
  Attested alternate reading for the night/evening sense; mainly encountered in set phrases, compounds, or more literary contexts rather than as the everyday reading.
よ

Etymology

A native Japanese word conventionally written with the kanji 夜, meaning night. The reading よる is the ordinary modern reading; よ is an alternate reading found especially in fixed or literary-style uses. The precise historical development is not detailed.