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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner

How do you say "dawn" in Japanese?

夜明け

yoake

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "dawn" is 夜明け (yoake).

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Pronunciation

Yoake has three quick even syllables, yo-a-ke, with no single one stressed, gliding smoothly from yo into ake.

Writing and usage

夜明け is written using kanji. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

夜明けに鳥たちがさえずった。

yoake ni tori tachigasaezutta.

The birds sang at dawn.

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How to remember 夜明け

Yoake contains 'ake', which sounds like 'ah-keh', close to the soft light breaking open at first dawn.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 夜明け

How do you pronounce 夜明け?

Yoake has three quick even syllables, yo-a-ke, with no single one stressed, gliding smoothly from yo into ake.

Is 夜明け formal or casual?

夜明け is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 夜明け written in Japanese?

夜明け is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as yoake.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Dawn" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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