夜 meaning and stroke order
Night
How to write 夜, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 3
- 4
- 5
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- 8
Meaning of 夜
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- night
- variant of 夜[ye4]
How 夜 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A person 亻 sneaking by under cover 亠 of night 夕.
Radical: 夕 (evening), shared by 11 characters on this site.
How to remember 夜
Picture a person 亻 sneaking along under a cover 亠 while the evening moon 夕 hangs nearby. Someone moving under cover beside the moon gives you 夜 (yè), night.
夜 usually appears in compounds rather than alone, such as 夜里 (yèlǐ, at night), 半夜 (bànyè, midnight) and 日夜 (rìyè, day and night). Example: 他昨天开夜车了。(Tā zuótiān kāi yèchē le.) He stayed up late working last night.
Common mistake: Learners often write the right side as a plain 夕 standing apart, but in 夜 the 夕 part has an extra dot stroke tucked inside and sits under the 亠 lid. Also keep the tone falling: yè, not yē or yě (也).
Common words with 夜
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 半夜 | bànyè | midnight; in the middle of the night | HSK 2 |
| 夜里 | yèlǐ | during the night; at night | HSK 2 |
| 夜间 | yèjiān | nighttime; evening or night (e.g. classes) | HSK 5 |
| 黑夜 | hēiyè | night | HSK 6 |
| 日夜 | rìyè | day and night; around the clock | HSK 6 |
| 开夜车 | kāi yèchē | to burn the midnight oil; to work late into the night | HSK 6 |
| 夜晚 | yèwǎn | night | HSK 7-9 |
| 夜总会 | yèzǒnghuì | nightclub; nightspot | HSK 7-9 |
| 深夜 | shēnyè | very late at night | HSK 7-9 |
| 夜班 | yèbān | night shift | HSK 7-9 |
| 熬夜 | áoyè | to stay up late or all night | HSK 7-9 |
| 夜校 | yèxiào | evening school; night school | HSK 7-9 |
| 彻夜 | chèyè | the whole night | HSK 7-9 |
| 夜以继日 | yèyǐjìrì | night and day (idiom); continuous strenuous effort | HSK 7-9 |
夜 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 夜
Learning 夜 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 夜
How many strokes are in 夜?
夜 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 夜 mean?
夜 (yè) means night. A common word with it is 半夜 (bànyè), meaning "midnight; in the middle of the night".
How do you pronounce 夜?
夜 is pronounced yè, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 夜?
The radical of 夜 is 夕, which carries the idea of "evening". Dictionaries list 夜 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 夜?
The traditional form of 夜 is 亱. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 夜 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 夜 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 夜 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
What is the difference between 夜 and 晚 for night?
晚 (wǎn) is the everyday word for evening, as in 晚上 (wǎnshang), and also means late. 夜 sounds more like deep night and appears in set words like 半夜 and 夜里. In casual speech, 晚上 is the safest choice for tonight or this evening.
How do you say late at night or staying up all night with 夜?
Use 深夜 (shēnyè) for late at night and 熬夜 (áoyè) for staying up late. 开夜车 (kāi yèchē) specifically means working or studying late into the night.