黎明|れいめいreimei[0]heiban (flat)

1. noundaybreak; dawn; gray of the morning (grey)
2. noundawn (of a new age)

• Synonym明け方あけがたNeutralThe everyday word for the time when night is about to end. Neutral, and strictly a time of day — it never carries 「黎明」's sense of a new era.
• Synonym夜明けよあけNeutralThe most common everyday word for daybreak. Like 「黎明」, it can also herald a new era, as in 「日本の夜明け」.
• Synonym曙あけぼのWrittenWritten and literary: the moment night first begins to lift. Like 「黎明」, it can figure a beginning, as in 「文明の曙」.
• Synonym暁あかつきNeutralNeutral but broader than 「黎明」: besides daybreak it means the time when something is accomplished, as in 「〜の暁には」.
• Synonym暁天ぎょうてんWrittenWritten and rare: the sky at daybreak. Points to the color of the sky, not the start of an era.
• Synonym払暁ふつぎょうWrittenWritten: the moment day first breaks. Often in military contexts like 「払暁攻撃」; never used figuratively.
• Synonym明けあけCasualColloquial: daybreak, and also the time just after a period ends, as in 「夜勤明け」 or 「休み明け」 — a sense 「黎明」 lacks.
• Synonym早天そうてんWrittenWritten and rare: the still-dark early morning just before sunrise. No metaphor for a new age.
• Synonym白白明けしらしらあけWrittenRare and written: the hour when the sky is just turning pale. In everyday speech people say 「明け方」 instead.
• Synonym朝ぼらけあさぼらけWrittenArchaic and elegant: the faint light of early dawn. Found mostly in waka poetry.
• Related有明ありあけWrittenArchaic: dawn while the moon is still up. Elegant, and mostly seen in classical texts.
• Related彼は誰時かわたれどきWrittenArchaic: the dark hour before dawn, when it is too dark to make out faces. Forms a pair with 「黄昏時」.
• Related早暁そうぎょうWrittenWritten and rare: the early hour when day is just breaking. Synonymous with 「払暁」.
• Antonym黄昏たそがれNeutralNeutral antonym: dusk, the counterpart of daybreak. Also a metaphor for decline.
• Antonym夕暮れゆうぐれNeutralNeutral antonym: early evening, the counterpart of 「黎明」 at the other end of the day.

Everyday daybreak is 「夜明け」 or 「明け方」. Use 「黎明」 for the dawn of a new age or field, as in 「黎明期」; 「曙」 is the literary figurative choice. Colloquial 「明け」 also ends a period (「休み明け」); most others are rare or archaic. Opposites: 「黄昏」, 「夕暮れ」.

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

1. 夜明よあけ。
2. 新あたらしい時代じだい・文化ぶんかが始はじまろうとする時とき。