1.
road at night; nighttime path; walking at night
A road or path traversed at night. Often carries connotations of danger, loneliness, or eeriness.
夜道は気をつけて。
Be careful on the road at night.
一人で夜道を歩くのは怖い。
It's scary to walk alone at night.
暗い夜道で足元が見えなくて転んでしまった。
I couldn't see my footing on the dark nighttime road and tripped.
USAGE:
Often used when talking about safety concerns, especially for women and children walking home at night. Also appears in proverbs and folk wisdom, such as 夜道に日は暮れぬ ("the sun doesn't set on a night road" — meaning there's no need to hurry at night).
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 夜道を歩く (to walk at night)
- 暗い夜道 (dark nighttime road)
- 夜道は危ない (nighttime roads are dangerous)
- 一人で夜道 (alone on a nighttime road)
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 夜の道: road at night — more descriptive, same meaning
- 暗闇: darkness — the condition rather than the path
- 帰り道: way home — can overlap when returning home at night