薄明(はくめい)

はくめい
noun
twilight; dim light; half-light
naturetime
1. twilight; dim light; half-light
The soft, faint light around dawn or dusk when the sun is below the horizon; also used for any dim, ambient light.
薄明(はくめい)の中(なか)を歩(ある)く。
To walk in the twilight.
薄明(はくめい)の空(そら)が美(うつく)しかった。
The twilight sky was beautiful.
夜明(よあ)け前(まえ)の薄明(はくめい)の時間帯(じかんたい)は、鳥(とり)たちが一斉(いっせい)に鳴(な)き始(はじ)める。
In the twilight hours before dawn, the birds all begin singing at once.

A compound of 薄(はく) (thin, faint) and 明(めい) (light, brightness). A literary and somewhat formal word for the soft light of dawn or dusk. It has a poetic, atmospheric quality and is often used in literature, photography, and descriptions of nature.

In astronomy, 薄明(はくめい) is also a technical term for twilight — the period when the sun is below the horizon but its light is still scattered in the atmosphere.

Common collocations

Similar words

  • たそがれ: twilight (especially dusk) — more poetic and literary; from 黄昏(たそがれ)
  • 夕暮(ゆうぐ)れ: evening twilight, dusk — more everyday and specific to evening
  • 明(あ)け方(がた): dawn, daybreak — the time just before sunrise
  • 薄明(うすあか)るい: dimly lit — the adjective describing the quality of faint light

Related Words

Compare: 黄昏(たそがれ) (twilight)
Compare: 夕暮(ゆうぐ)れ (evening twilight, dusk)
Compare: 明(あ)け方(がた) (dawn, daybreak)
general
Added 2026.4.26 21:39 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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