1.
broad daylight; the middle of the day
The bright middle hours of the day. Characteristically used in contexts where something surprising, shocking, or bold happens despite the clear visibility of daytime — crimes committed in public view, hallucinations occurring when one should be lucid, etc.
白昼の犯行。
A crime committed in broad daylight.
白昼、街の真ん中で事件が起きた。
An incident occurred in broad daylight, in the middle of town.
犯人は白昼堂々と銀行に押し入った。
The criminal brazenly broke into the bank in broad daylight.
こんな白昼に幽霊を見るなんて、信じられない話だ。
Seeing a ghost in broad daylight like this is an unbelievable story.
Compound of 白 ('white; bright') and 昼 ('daytime'). A slightly literary word meaning 'bright daytime.' Almost always carries the nuance of 'even though it's the middle of the day (and people can see),' rather than neutrally referring to the afternoon.
USAGE:
Most commonly appears in crime and scandal reporting: 白昼の犯行 ('crime committed in broad daylight'). The adverbial form 白昼堂々と ('brazenly, in broad daylight') is a fixed expression emphasizing the shameless boldness of an act. For neutral reference to the middle of the day, 昼間 or 日中 is more natural.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 白昼の犯行: crime committed in broad daylight
- 白昼堂々と: brazenly, in broad daylight
- 白昼の出来事: an incident in broad daylight
- 白昼に起こる: to occur in broad daylight
- 白昼夢: daydream; waking dream
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 昼間: daytime — plain, everyday word; no dramatic nuance
- 日中: during the day; daylight hours — neutral, common in weather and schedule contexts
- 真昼: high noon; midday — the bright middle of the day, more poetic
- 白日: the bright sun; open day — very literary; appears in 白日のもとに ('out in the open')
REGISTER:
Slightly literary and written. In everyday speech, 真昼間 ('in the middle of the day') conveys a similar 'despite being daytime' nuance more colloquially.