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One of the best Japanese Kanji dictionary.
The kanji most commonly used for "Dusk" are 暮、宵、昏.
暮
dusk, to live, evening
Onyomi: bo Kunyomi: ku.rasu, ku.reru 14 strokes Jōyō
evening, night
Also associated with dusk.
Onyomi: shoh Kunyomi: yoi 10 strokes Jōyō
dusk, dark, ignorant
Onyomi: kon Kunyomi: kura.i, kure 8 strokes Jinmeiyō
vast
Also associated with dusk, none.
Onyomi: baku, bo, maku, mo, nai Kunyomi: kure, naka.re, nashi 10 strokes Jinmeiyō
evening, late
Also associated with dusk.
Onyomi: ban Kunyomi: kure, osoi 11 strokes Jinmeiyō
暮 is the character behind the everyday words for dusk: 夕暮れ (yūgure) and 日暮れ (higure), both built on the verb 暮れる, to grow dark. That verb has a second life — 暮らす means to live, to pass one’s days, and 暮らし is one’s livelihood — so 暮 is as much about time running out as about light fading. 歳暮 is the close of the year.
昏 is darkness itself rather than an hour of the day. It is the second character of 黄昏 (tasogare), the poetic word for twilight, and it also carries a sense of dimmed consciousness, as in 昏睡 (konsui, coma). It is a Jinmeiyō character and is almost never written alone in modern Japanese.
For dusk as a moment in the day, 暮 is the character a reader expects. 昏 reads darker and more literary, and needs a partner character to be understood.
暮 is the safer of the two and reads as evening or the closing of a day, though it equally suggests 暮らす, to live day to day. 昏 is uncommon on its own, and its other sense is clouded or dimmed consciousness, which is not the mood most people intend.
What is Onyomi?
Onyomi, also known as the "Sino-Japanese reading," is one of the two main reading systems for kanji characters in Japanese. It refers to the reading of a kanji character that is derived from the original Chinese pronunciation.
What is Kunyomi?
Kunyomi, also known as the "native Japanese reading," is one of the two main reading systems for kanji characters in Japanese. It refers to the reading of a kanji character that is based on the native Japanese pronunciation. Kunyomi readings are often used when a kanji character stands alone or is followed by hiragana, as in verbs and adjectives. Mastering both kunyomi and onyomi is crucial for understanding and using kanji effectively in the Japanese language.
What is Radical?
A radical, also known as "bushu" in Japanese, is a fundamental component of kanji characters. Radicals are the building blocks of kanji and are used to categorize and organize them in dictionaries. There are 214 traditional radicals, each with its own meaning, which often provides a clue to the meaning of the kanji character it forms.
What is strokes?
Stroke count, or "kakusuu" in Japanese, refers to the number of individual brushstrokes required to write a kanji character. Each kanji has a specific stroke order and stroke count, which are essential for writing the character correctly and legibly. Understanding and following the correct stroke order not only ensures proper balance and aesthetics but also makes writing more efficient and fluid.