midnight; dead of night
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesnoun
in the middle of the night; at midnight; the dead of night
Often used with 的 to form an adverbial phrase indicating time. Typically refers to the period between 11 PM and 1 AM (the third watch in ancient Chinese timekeeping).
Bàn半
yè夜
sān三
gēng更
de的
，
bié别
zài再
dà大
shēng声
shuō说
huà话
le了
。
It's the middle of the night—stop talking so loudly.
Tā他
xǐ喜
huan欢
bàn半
yè夜
sān三
gēng更
xiě写
wén文
zhāng章
。
He likes to write articles in the middle of the night.
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Tā他
men们
bàn半
yè夜
sān三
gēng更
cái才
huí回
lái来
，
bǎ把
dà大
jiā家
dōu都
chǎo吵
xǐng醒
le了
。
They didn't come back until the dead of night, waking everyone up.
Bàn半
yè夜
sān三
gēng更
de的
，
nǐ你
qù去
nǎr哪
a儿
啊
？
Where are you going at this hour?