半夜 (bàn yè) — the middle of the night; midnight
Definition
Literally 'half a night', used for midnight or the middle of the night. More specific and time-of-day focused than the general 夜 ('night'); for the deep, late-night hours use 深夜.
the middle of the nightmidnight
Examples
- 半夜。Tā měi tiān gōng zuò dào bàn yè.He works until midnight every day.
- 半夜。bàn yè Tū rán xià qǐ le dà yǔ.In the middle of the night, it suddenly started raining heavily.
- 半夜。Wǒ men liáo dào bàn yè cái shuì jiào.We chatted until midnight before going to sleep.
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