How to say "dusk" in Japanese

• 夕方ゆうがたJLPT N5approx.Common
  noun, adverbReally the word for the everyday early-evening hours, roughly three to six, when people head home; its 'dusk' is that approach of evening rather than the fading light itself.
  ひょっとすると夕方ゆうがた前まえに雨あめになるかもしれない。↗

  It might rain before evening.
• 黄昏たそがれCommon
  nounThe word for dusk as twilight — the dim, fading light between day and night. It carries a poetic, evocative feel, so it suits literary description and atmosphere more than clock time.
  われわれの文明ぶんめいの黄昏たそがれに。↗

  We find ourselves in the twilight of our civilization.
• 夕暮れゆうぐれJLPT N1approx.Common
  nounA general word for the evening as it darkens, covering dusk and twilight; it fits both plain statements of time and descriptions of the fading light.
  その校舎こうしゃは夕暮ゆうぐれの中なかにきらきらと輝かがやいていた。↗

  The school building was a blaze of light in the evening darkness.
• 日暮れひぐれCommon
  nounCenters on the sun going down and the day's light ending — sunset shading into dusk. Use it when the point is that the day is closing and night is at hand.
  日暮ひぐれ前まえにキャンプに戻もどった。↗

  We came back to camp before dark.
• 暮れくれJLPT N3approx.Common
  adverb, no-adjective, noun (suffix)Points to nightfall itself — the day giving way to dark — rather than a stretch of evening time; think sundown and the coming of night, not the clock-time evening.

Choose 夕方 for the everyday early-evening hours, 黄昏 for poetic twilight, 「夕暮れ」 for the evening as it darkens, and 「日暮れ」 or 「暮れ」 for sunset and nightfall, when the day's light ends.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 夕方ゆうがたearly evening (usu. from 3pm to 6pm)
• 黄昏たそがれdusk
• 夕暮れゆうぐれevening
• 日暮れひぐれtwilight
• 暮れくれsunset
• 夕闇ゆうやみdusk
• 黄昏時たそがれどきdusk
• 薄暮はくぼdusk
• 宵闇よいやみdusk
• 暮色ぼしょくdusk
• 薄明はくめいtwilight
• 暮れ方くれがたevening
• 夕景ゆうけいevening
• 火灯し頃ひともしごろearly evening
• 薄暗がりうすくらがりsemi-darkness
• 夕陽せきようevening
• 秉燭へいしょくearly evening