1.
twilight, dusk
The period of the day just after sunset when the sky is not completely dark but the sun is no longer visible.
黄昏時に散歩するのが好きだ。
I like taking walks at twilight.
黄昏の空がオレンジ色に輝いていた。
The twilight sky was glowing orange.
黄昏の光の中で、街の景色が金色に輝いて見えた。
In the twilight light, the town scenery appeared to glow golden.
2.
decline, waning period
(Figurative) The later years or declining period of someone's life, career, or an era.
彼は人生の黄昏を静かに過ごしている。
He is spending the twilight of his life peacefully.
かつて栄えたその帝国も、もう黄昏の時代を迎えていた。
That once-prosperous empire had already entered its twilight era.
選手としての黄昏を感じながらも、最後まで全力で戦い続けた。
Even while feeling the twilight of his career as an athlete, he kept fighting with all his might until the end.
黄昏 refers to twilight or dusk. The word comes from the phrase 「誰そ彼」(who is that?), reflecting the dim light making it hard to recognize faces.
COMMON EXPRESSIONS:
- 黄昏時: twilight time
- 黄昏の空: twilight sky
- 人生の黄昏: twilight of life
VERB FORM:
- 黄昏れる: to grow dark at dusk; (figurative) to decline, to enter one's twilight years
LITERARY/POETIC:
- Commonly used in literature and poetry
- Associated with melancholy, nostalgia, transition
- A 季語 (seasonal word) for autumn
SIMILAR TERMS:
- 夕暮れ: evening, dusk
- 薄暮: dusk, twilight
- 日暮れ: sunset, nightfall