Meaning
黄昏 refers to the time of day just after sunset when the sky takes on yellow and orange hues before darkness falls. It captures that brief, atmospheric period between day and night, typically lasting 20-40 minutes. The word evokes a poetic, somewhat melancholic mood in Chinese literature and everyday speech.
Usage
This is a literary and slightly formal word for dusk, more elegant than simply saying 傍晚 (bàngwǎn). Chinese speakers often use 黄昏 when describing scenes poetically or when emphasizing the particular quality of light at that hour. It frequently appears in literature, song lyrics, and artistic descriptions of evening scenes.
Examples
- 01黄昏时分，天空染上了一层金色。, .At dusk, the sky was tinged with a golden hue.
- 02他喜欢在黄昏的时候沿着海边散步。.He likes to take walks along the beach at twilight.
Characters
Measure words
- 个一个黄昏
Common collocations
- 黄昏时分at dusk
- 黄昏的天空the twilight sky
- 人生的黄昏the twilight of one's life
Antonyms
Origin
The word literally combines 'yellow' (黄) and 'dim/dusk' (昏), directly describing the yellowish-golden light characteristic of the sun's last rays before nightfall.