半夜

bàn yè

HSK 3.0 Level 5 数量 Common

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Definitions

1. midnight
2. in the middle of the night

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Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

• 凌晨 líng chén 凌晨 líng chén very early in the morning 凌晨 refers to early morning before dawn, opposite end of the night.: very early in the morning

Register variants

1 item

• 半夜三更 bàn yè sān gēng 半夜三更 bàn yè sān gēng in the depth of night Synonymous with 三更半夜, same core meaning but slightly different word order.: in the depth of night

Related words

1 item

• 三更半夜 sān gēng bàn yè 三更半夜 sān gēng bàn yè in the depth of the night; very late at night An idiom emphasizing deep into the night, used for strong emphasis.: in the depth of the night; very late at night

Synonyms

1 item

• 深夜 shēn yè 深夜 shēn yè very late at night Both refer to late night hours, but 半夜 often implies around midnight specifically.: very late at night

Usage notes

Collocations

Often used with 了 or 就 to emphasize lateness, e.g., 工作到半夜了. Do not use 半晚; the correct form is 半夜.

Example Sentences

2 shown

他工作到 半夜 才回家。

He worked until midnight before going home.

现在 半夜 。

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 3179105)

Sentence data courtesy of Tatoeba.org. AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 半夜

• 三更半夜 三更半夜 sān gēng bàn yè: in the depth of the night; very late at night
• 上半夜 上半夜 shàng bàn yè: first half of the night
• 前半夜 前半夜 qián bàn yè: first half of the night (from nightfall to midnight)
• 半夜三更 半夜三更 bàn yè sān gēng: in the depth of night
• 大半夜 大半夜 dà bàn yè: the middle of the night
• 平生不做亏心事，半夜敲门心不惊 平生不做亏心事，半夜敲门心不惊 píng shēng bù zuò kuī xīn shì , bàn yè qiāo mén xīn bù jīng: He who never wrongs others does not fear the knock in the night.
• 深更半夜 深更半夜 shēn gēng bàn yè: in the dead of night (idiom)
• 黑天半夜 黑天半夜 hēi tiān bàn yè: lit. the black sky of midnight

Child Words of 半夜

• 半 半 bàn: half
• 夜 夜 yè: night