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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "midnight" in Japanese?
真夜中
mayonaka
In Japanese, "midnight" is 真夜中 (mayonaka).
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Pronunciation
Mayonaka is four even syllables, ma-yo-na-ka, said at a steady pace with no part rushed or stressed harder.
Writing and usage
真夜中 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
時計は真夜中を告げた。
tokei ha mayonaka wo tsuge ta.
The clock struck midnight.
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How to remember 真夜中
Mayonaka contains 'yo', as in 'oh no', which is what you say when you realize it's already midnight.
Related words
- decade 10年 10 nen
- century 世紀 seiki
- era 時代 jidai
- millennium ミレニアム mireniamu
- weekday 平日 heijitsu
- weekend 週末 shuumatsu
- holiday 休暇 kyuuka
- deadline 締め切り shimekiri
- schedule スケジュール sukejuuru
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 真夜中
How do you pronounce 真夜中?
Mayonaka is four even syllables, ma-yo-na-ka, said at a steady pace with no part rushed or stressed harder.
Is 真夜中 formal or casual?
真夜中 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 真夜中 written in Japanese?
真夜中 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as mayonaka.
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.
"Midnight" in other languages
Curated by Callan 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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