How to say "midnight" in Japanese

• ミッドナイトCommon
  nounThe loanword, a direct borrowing of English 'midnight'. It corresponds to midnight as a point in time and is at home in titles, names, and other English-flavored contexts.
  その色いろは「ミッドナイト・ブルー」と言いいます。↗

  We call that color "midnight blue".
• 零時れいじCommon
  nounThe exact-time word: literally 'hour zero', it gives midnight as a clock reading, twelve o'clock at night; its senses also include noon, so context must make the hour clear.
• 真夜中まよなかCommon
  noun, adverbMidnight as a time and, beyond the clock, the dead of night as a period: choose it when you mean the middle of the night itself rather than a specific hour on the clock.
  私わたしたちは真夜中まよなかにロンドンに着ついた。↗

  We reached London at midnight.

Use 真夜中 for the middle of the night as a stretch of deep night, 零時 for midnight as the exact clock hour of twelve, and 「ミッドナイト」, the English loanword, where a direct borrowing is wanted.

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

• ミッドナイトmidnight
• 零時れいじtwelve o'clock
• 真夜中まよなかdead of night
• 半夜はんやmidnight
• 正子しょうしmidnight
• 半宵はんしょうmidnight
• 子の時ねのときmidnight
• 午前零時ごぜんれいじmidnight
• ゼロ時間ゼロじかんmidnight
• 丑三つうしみつdead of the night
• １２時じゅうにじtwelve o'clock
• 深更しんこうmiddle of the night
• 丑三つ時うしみつどきdead of night
• ２４時にじゅうよんじ12 AM