Meaning of 夜里
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- during the night
- at night
- nighttime
How to use 夜里
夜里 is a time word that usually goes before the verb or at the start of the sentence. In speech, 里 is often light and toneless, so you will hear yèli. Example: 我夜里常常醒。(Wǒ yèli chángcháng xǐng.) I often wake up at night.
夜 (yè) means night, and 里 (lǐ) means inside. 夜里 is simply "inside the night," the time when it is dark.
Common mistake: Learners often put 夜里 at the end of the sentence like English "at night." Say 我夜里工作 (wǒ yèli gōngzuò), not 我工作夜里. Also, do not add 在 before it in casual speech. 夜里 alone already works as "at night."
夜里 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
夜 yè · night · 8 strokes
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里 lǐ · lining · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 夜里.
Questions about 夜里
What does 夜里 mean?
夜里 (yèlǐ) means "during the night; at night" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 夜里?
夜里 is made of 2 characters: 夜 (8 strokes), 里 (7 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 夜里 an HSK word?
Yes. 夜里 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 夜里 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 夜里 is written 夜裡.
What is the difference between 夜里 and 晚上?
晚上 (wǎnshang) is the evening, roughly from dinner until you go to bed. 夜里 is later and deeper in the night, often the hours when people are asleep. 半夜 (bànyè) means the middle of the night, around midnight.
Can I say 今天夜里 or 昨天夜里?
Yes. 今天夜里 (jīntiān yèli) means tonight, during the night, and 昨天夜里 (zuótiān yèli) means last night. 昨夜 (zuóyè) is a shorter, more written way to say last night.