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I know that yonaka is considered to be during the middle of the night. Are
specific time periods involved?
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2018-07-12T20:14:10.320
60072
2018-07-12T21:50:23.777
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question
words
What times are considered to be 夜中?
[This dictionary](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/228064/meaning/m0u/) defines
`夜中` as, among other things, `夜のなかば` - literally "middle of the night". Much
as in English, there is no firm definition of exactly when the "middle of the
night" is. Ultimately a person's interpretation is going to depend to some
degree on their lifestyle, opinions, and many other things.

That said, according to an investigation the NHK did a while ago, it seems
like many people think of `夜中` as starting at 11 PM and ending at 3 AM.

Note: see
[here](https://www.nhk.or.jp/bunken/summary/kotoba/research/001.html) for the
investigation original text. It literally says `午後11時台～午前2時台`, but my
assumption is that `午前2時台` encompasses the period of time between 2 and 3 AM
and consequently the entire period of time ends at 3.
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2018-07-12T21:50:23.777
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2018-07-12T21:50:23.777
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answer