暁あかつき

あ

か

つ

き

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

noun

dawn; daybreak

poetical term

Poetic or literary term for the break of day. In everyday speech, 夜明け is more common.

暁あかつきの空そらが白しろみ始はじめた。
The sky at dawn began to lighten.
彼かれらは暁あかつきに出しゅっ発ぱつした。
They set out at daybreak.

noun

in the event of; when it comes to; upon

Only with reading あかつき

Used in the pattern 〜の暁に to mean 'when something happens' or 'in the event of'. Often implies a future, significant, or hoped-for occasion. Restricted to the reading あかつき.

成せい功こうの暁あかつきには、盛せい大だいに祝いわおう。
Upon success, let's celebrate grandly.
試し験けん合ごう格かくの暁あかつきには、家か族ぞくで旅りょ行こうに行いくつもりだ。
When I pass the exam, I plan to go on a trip with my family.

See all 18 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈事こと〉の暁あかつきにwhen/once (something significant) happens
試し験けんに合ごう格かくした暁あかつきには、家か族ぞくで祝いわおう。
Once I pass the exam, let's celebrate with the family.
暁あかつきを迎むかえるto greet the dawn
山さん頂ちょうで美うつくしい暁あかつきを迎むかえた。
We greeted a beautiful dawn at the mountaintop.

Expressions

春しゅん眠みん暁あかつきを覚おぼえずin spring one sleeps a sleep that knows no dawn; in spring one sleeps like a log

Kanji

暁daybreak, dawn, in the event
曉dawn, daybreak, clear

Related words

夜よ明あけN3sense 1
夜明け is the plain, everyday word for dawn, while 暁 is a poetic or literary term used mainly in writing.
明あけ方がたN2sense 1
明け方 refers neutrally to the time period around dawn, whereas 暁 carries a literary, evocative tone.
曙あけぼの sense 1
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

宵よい
暁 poetically denotes dawn or daybreak, the opposite end of the night from 宵, which marks its early, dusk-lit start.

Word family

暁あかつき闇やみ
moonless dawn; darkness before dawn
暁あかつきの空そら
dawning sky; sky at dawn
暁あかつき現げん象しょう
dawn phenomenon; dawn effect
暁あかつき起おき
waking up just before daybreak

Written forms

暁Usage76%
- あかつき
  Standard modern kanji form. High priority in news and frequency lists.
- あかとき
  out-dated reading
あかつきUsage22%
Kana spelling is acceptable, especially in informal or learner contexts, but the kanji form is common.
曉Usage1%
out-dated kanji form
- あかつき
  Out-dated kanji form (kyūjitai). Rarely used in modern writing.
- あかとき
  out-dated reading
あかときUsage1%
out-dated reading

Etymology

Originally a compound of 明か (aka, 'bright') + 時 (toki, 'time'), referring to the time when the sky brightens. The reading shifted from あかとき to あかつき over time.