晩（ばん、ban）
- evening

The Japanese word 晩, read as ばん (ban), primarily means "evening" or "night." It refers to the time of day after the afternoon and before the night. It encompasses the period when the sun sets and the sky darkens. It's important to differentiate 晩 from other time-related words in Japanese like 夜 (yoru, night) or 夕方 (yuugata, evening). 晩 usually focuses more on the later part of the evening and night time.

⚫︎今晩、映画を見に行きませんか？ Translation: How about going to see a movie tonight? ⚫︎晩ご飯は何にする？ Translation: What are we having for dinner tonight?

⚫︎You'll typically use 晩 in contexts related to activities that occur in the evening or night. ⚫︎It's common to use 晩 to specify the timing of events or actions. ⚫︎It is often used with other time-related words like 今 (ima, now), 毎 (mai, every), and numbers (e.g., 今晩 - tonight, 毎晩 - every evening/night, 今晩10時に - at 10 p.m. tonight). ⚫︎You can use 晩 for the time from around sunset until bedtime, but the specific length can vary depending on context and individual perception.

⚫︎The word is written as 晩 in kanji. ⚫︎The hiragana reading is ばん. ⚫︎There are no variations in okurigana.

⚫︎夜 (yoru): night ⚫︎夕方 (yuugata): evening (more specifically, late afternoon and early evening)

⚫︎朝 (asa): morning ⚫︎昼 (hiru): daytime, noon

晩ご飯は家族みんなで食べます。 ・Translation: We all eat dinner together as a family. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the family's dinner time, which falls in the evening.

彼は毎晩遅くまで仕事をしています。 ・Translation: He works until late every night. ・Explanation: This describes someone working late during the evening and night.

The kanji 晩 combines the components of "sun" (日) and "complete" (免). It represents the completion of the day, as in the setting of the sun and the beginning of the evening. The etymology reflects the time of day after the sun has set.