Japanese symbol for “dawn”
夜明け
よあけ
Romaji: yoake
dawn; daybreak
In Japanese, dawn is 夜明け, read よあけ (yoake).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n dawn; daybreak
Written forms: 夜明け、夜明. Readings: よあけ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “dawn”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 暁 | あかつき akatsuki | dawn; daybreak |
| 明け方 | あけがた akegata | dawn; daybreak |
| 曙 | あけぼの akebono | dawn; daybreak; beginning |
| 明け | あけ ake | dawn; daybreak |
| 天明 | てんめい tenmei | dawn; daybreak |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 今夜 | こんや kon'ya | this evening; tonight |
| 夜間 | やかん yakan | night; nighttime |
| 深夜 | しんや shin'ya | late at night |
| 夜中 | よなか yonaka | middle of the night; dead of night |
| 徹夜 | てつや tetsuya | staying up all night |
| 説明 | せつめい setsumei | explanation; exposition; description |
| 明日 | あした ashita | tomorrow |
| 明らか | あきらか akiraka | clear; obvious; evident |
See also: Chinese symbol for “dawn”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.