What does “mayonaka” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “mayonaka” to mean ‘midnight’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, songs, novels, manga, anime, and the like. 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 to understand “mayonaka” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “mayonaka”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “mayonaka”
- mayonaka – 真夜中 (まよなか) : a noun meaning ‘midnight’ in Japanese.
Grammatically, this is a noun. In reality, however, this can also work as an adverb almost anywhere in a sentence. In Japanese, many time-related nouns can also work as adverbs. “Mayonaka” is one of them. This fact would be a bit surprising to Japanese learners, but this is not unique to the Japanese language. For example, “tomorrow” in English can work both a noun and an adverb. So, Japanese learners – especially those who are familiar with English – can easily understand this point, I think.
The definition and meaning of “mayonaka” are simple and clear. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
Mayonaka in kanji
The kanji expression of “mayonaka” consists of the following three characters:
- 真 : a kanji character often used as a prefix to add the meaning of ‘true’, ‘real’, or ‘middle’. This kanji can also be found in other words like “shashin“.
- 夜 : a kanji character used to mean ‘night’ in Japanese. This kanji can also be found in other words like “yoake“.
- 中 : a kanji character used to mean ‘middle’, ‘center’, or ‘inside’.
These three kanji characters tell us that “mayonaka” literally means ‘true night middle’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the meaning, but still very close, I think. Midnight is truly the middle of the night.
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 “mayonaka” through the detailed kanji check above.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “mayonaka” and its kanji expression in detail. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “midnight” in Japanese
watashi tachi wa mayonaka ni ie ni kaet ta – 私達は真夜中に家に帰った (わたしたちはまよなかにいえにかえった)
We came home at midnight.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to make its plural form, “watashi tachi”, which means ‘we’ in Japanese. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi tachi” to make the subject in the sentence.
- ni – に : the first “ni” in the example is a case particle used to say when someone does something. It is used after “mayonaka” to say when “watashi tachi” came home.
- ie – 家 (いえ) : a noun meaning ‘house’ or ‘home’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- ni – に : the second “ni” in the example is a case particle used to say where someone or something goes. It is used after “ie” to say where “watashi tachi” came at midnight.
- kaet – 帰っ (かえっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “kaeru”, which means ‘to go back’ or ‘to return’ 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. In the example, this is used after “kaet” to make its past tense form, “kaet ta”.
This is a typical usage of “mayonaka”. In this example, it works together with “ni” to say “at midnight” in Japanese.
Example #2: another usage of “mayonaka”
mayonaka no tsuki ga kirei deshi ta – 真夜中の月が綺麗でした (まよなかのつきがきれいでした)
The midnight moon was beautiful.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- no – の : a case particle used to join two nouns. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this is used to join “mayonaka” and “tsuki”. The formed phrase literally means ‘midnight moon’ in Japanese.
- tsuki – 月 (つき) : a noun meaning ‘the moon’ in Japanese.
- 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 “mayonaka no tsuki” 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.
- deshi – でし : one conjugation of the auxiliary verb, “desu”, which is used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. In the example, this is used after “kirei” to make it sound polite.
This is another typical usage of “mayonaka”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “mayonaka no tsuki”, which means ‘midnight moon’ in Japanese. When we want to say “midnight” in Japanese, anyway, this noun is a very good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “mayonaka” 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.
- mayonaka – 真夜中 (まよなか) : a noun meaning ‘midnight’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb almost anywhere in a sentence. These three kanji characters literally mean ‘true night middle’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the meaning, but still very close, I think. Midnight is truly the middle of the night.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.