68096
I've found several words in the book, which means `evening`. What's the
difference among them?

_I've found only this information:_

```

    夕 - 5pm to 7pm
    晩 - 7pm to 10pm
    夜 - 10pm onwards (night, late evening)
    
```

But not sure, is it true and what's the difference among `夕方` and `夕べ` and the
others?
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2019-04-17T07:53:13.073
66631
2019-05-09T17:40:51.013
question
word-choice word-usage
Difference among evening words 夕方, 夕べ, 晩, 夕?
From a Japanese Dictionary:

# 夕

> 日が沈んで夜になろうとする時。夕暮れ。夕方。ゆうべ。「朝に夕に故郷を思う」
> <https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%A4%95-546992>

夕 means the time when the sun sets. But, 夕 is not used in modern Japanese. It
is only seen in classical texts.

# 夕方

> 日の暮れがた。日の沈むころ。 <https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%A4%95%E6%96%B9-650419>

夕方 also means sun setting time, but 夕方 is used in modern Japanese.

Note that 夕方 has antonym: 明け方. 明け方 means sun rising time.

# 晩

This word has many meanings:

>   1. 夕暮れ。夕方。
>   2. 夜。
>   3. 晩飯。 <https://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%99%A9-605993>
>

  1. says `晩 is 夕方`, but 2. says `晩 is night`. 

And so, 晩 (3. means 晩 is dinner) is used to express a wider span of time.

# 夕べ

>   1. 日の暮れるころ。夕方。「秋の夕べ」
>   2. 何かの催し物が行われる夜。「音楽の夕べ」
>   3. きのうの夜。さくや。昨晩。「夕べは飲み明かした」「夕べ地震があった」
> <https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%A4%95%E3%81%B9-651184>
>

  1. says `夕べ is 夕方`. 2. says `A night with some event`. 3. says `Last night`.

I think 2. is the most common usage and 3. is not used very often because the
other word `昨晩`'s pronunciation is the same. However, because 夕べ also means
夕方, 昨晩 is preferred.

Note that 昨晩 has two ways of reading it: `yube` (same as 夕べ) and `sakuban`.

# Conclusion

夕方 and 夕 are almost the same, but 夕 is used only in a literary style. 晩 means
a later time.
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2019-05-09T17:19:28.063
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2019-05-09T17:40:51.013
2019-05-09T17:40:51.013
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answer