夜

Phono-semantic compound composed of:

夕 (xī / 석) — “evening,” symbolizing the setting of the sun and the coming of darkness.

亦 (yì / 역) — provides the pronunciation and contributes to the idea of repetition or continuation (“again, also”).

Thus, 夜 originally expressed the continuation of evening into full darkness, the time when light is gone.

夜間 (야간) — nighttime

夜明 (야명) — dawn, daybreak (“light of night”)

夜色 (야색) — night scenery, the look of night

夜空 (야공) — night sky

夜行 (야행) — travel or move at night

夜學 (야학) — night school

夜半 (야반) — midnight

夜中 (야중) — during the night

徹夜 (철야) — all night long; overnight

夜叉 (야차) — yaksha (night demon in Buddhist context)

In Confucian and Daoist literature, 晝夜 (day and night) represents the cyclic order of yin and yang, activity and rest.

「晝以作，夜以息。」

“By day one acts, by night one rests.” — Book of Rites (禮記)

In Buddhist texts, 夜 also signifies spiritual watchfulness:

“삼경(三更)” — the “three watches of the night” — marks times for meditation.

In poetry, 夜 often conveys solitude, longing, and reflection:

「靜夜思」(정야사) — “Thoughts on a Quiet Night” (by Li Bai, 이백)

“Before my bed, moonlight shines bright; I wonder if it’s frost on the ground.”

Because 夜 evolved from 亦 + 夕, its upper portion came to resemble 亠 (“lid”) and its lower portion like 夂 (“go slowly”).

This causes many beginners to mistake 夜 for a 亠-radical character, but the true radical is 夕 (저녁 석), not 亠.