What does “kon’ya” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “kon’ya” to mean ‘tonight’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “kon’ya” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “kon’ya”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “kon’ya”.
- kon’ya – 今夜 (こんや) : a noun meaning ‘tonight’ in Japanese.
Grammatically, this is a noun. In reality, this can also work as an adverb. In Japanese, many time-related nouns can also work as adverbs. “Kon’ya” is one of them. Perhaps this fact is weird to Japanese learners, but not unique to the Japanese language. For example, “tonight” can work as both a noun and an adverb in English. So, Japanese learners, especially those who are familiar with English, can easily understand this point.
The definition and meaning are simple and clear. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
What does “kon’ya” literally mean in Japanese?
The kanji expression of “kon’ya” consists of the following two kanji characters:
- 今 : a kanji character used to mean ‘now’ in Japanese. This can also work as a prefix to add the meaning of ‘this’.
- 夜 : a kanji character used to mean ‘night’ in Japanese.
These two kanji characters tell us that “kon’ya” literally means ‘this night’ in Japanese. So, what the kanji characters express is completely in line with the actual meaning.
When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “kon’ya” through the detailed kanji check above.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “kon’ya” together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “tonight” in Japanese
kon’ya wa hoshi ga kirei desu – 今夜は星が綺麗です (こんやはほしがきれいです)
The stars are beautiful tonight.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works as a topic marker after “kon’ya” to put a focus on it.
- hoshi – 星 (ほし) : a noun meaning ‘star’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “hoshi” to make the subject in the sentence.
- kirei – 綺麗 (きれい) : the stem part of the na-adjective, “kireina“, which means ‘beautiful’ in Japanese.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “kirei” to make it sound polite.
This is a typical usage of “kon’ya”. In this example, it works together with the binding particle, “wa”, to say “tonight” in Japanese. It can work alone, but sometimes works together with the particle like this.
Example #2: another usage of “kon’ya”
watashi wa kon’ya kanojo to at ta – 私は今夜彼女と会った (わたしはこんやかのじょとあった)
I met her tonight.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- to – と : a case particle used to say with whom someone does something. In the example, this is used after “kanojo” to say whom the speaker met.
- at – 会っ (あっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “au”, which means ‘to meet’ or ‘to see’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, this is used after “at” to make its past tense form, “at ta”.
This is another typical usage of “kon’ya”. In this example, it works alone and means ‘tonight’ in Japanese. When we want to say “tonight” in Japanese, this noun is always a very good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “kon’ya” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- kon’ya – 今夜 (こんや) : a noun meaning ‘tonight’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb almost anywhere in a sentence. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘this night’ in Japanese. So, what the kanji characters express is completely in line with the actual meaning.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
