今宵

Chinese

		today; modern; present today; modern; present; current; this; now	night
trad. (今宵)		今	宵
simp. #(今宵)		今	宵

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jīnxiāo

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄣ ㄒㄧㄠ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gam¹ siu¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jīnxiāo
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄣ ㄒㄧㄠ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jinsiao
    • Wade–Giles: chin¹-hsiao¹
    • Yale: jīn-syāu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jinshiau
    • Palladius: цзиньсяо (czinʹsjao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕin⁵⁵ ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gam¹ siu¹
    • Yale: gām sīu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gam¹ siu¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: gem¹ xiu¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɐm⁵⁵ siːu̯⁵⁵/

Noun

今宵

1. (literary) tonight

Synonyms

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		今夕, 今宵, 今夜
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		今晚, 今夜, 今宵
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	今兒晚上
	Taiwan	今天晚上, 今晚
	Harbin	今兒晚上, 今兒個晚上
	Malaysia	今晚
	Singapore	今晚
Cantonese	Guangzhou	今晚, 今晚黑
	Hong Kong	今晚, 今晚黑
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	今晚
	Macau	今晚
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	今晚
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	今晚夜
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	今晚
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	今晚
	Foshan	今晚
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	今晚
	Foshan (Shunde)	今晚
	Foshan (Sanshui)	今晚
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	今日夜晚
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	今晚
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	今晚
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	今晚
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	今晚
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	今晚黑
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	今晚黑
	Taishan	今晚
	Kaiping (Chikan)	今日晚黑
	Enping (Niujiang)	今晚夜
	Heshan (Yayao)	今晚
	Dongguan	今晚
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	今晚
	Nanning	今晚
	Wuzhou	今晚
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	今晚
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	今晚
	Singapore (Guangfu)	今晚
Gan	Nanchang	今夜
Hakka	Meixian	今暗晡, 今晡夜, 今晡暗, 暗晡夜
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	今晚黑
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	今晚夜
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	今晚夜
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	今晚夜
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	今暗夜
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	暗晡夜, 今暗晡
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	暗晡夜, 今暗晡
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	暗晡夜, 今暗晡
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	暗夜, 暗晡夜, 今暗晡
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	暗晡夜, 今暗晡
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	暗夜, 今日暗夜, 今日暗晡
	Sabah (Bao'an)	今晚夜
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	今旦晡, 今晡
	Matsu	今晡
Southern Min	Xiamen	今暝
	Zhangzhou	今暝
	Taipei	下昏暗 GT, 下昏 GT
	Tainan	今仔下暗
	Penang (Hokkien)	今暝
	Singapore (Hokkien)	今暝
	Manila (Hokkien)	今仔暗
	Zhangping (Yongfu)	暗昏
	Pingnan (Shangdu)	今天晚上
	Chaozhou	今暝
	Shantou	今暝
	Shantou (Chenghai)	今暝
	Jieyang	今暝
	Singapore (Teochew)	今暝
	Batam (Teochew)	今暝
	Leizhou	今暝, 今暝昏
	Wenchang	今昏
	Haikou	今暗
	Singapore (Hainanese)	今暝
Puxian Min	Putian	暝昏
	Xianyou	暝昏
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	今晏麻昏
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	今夜
Wu	Shanghai	今朝夜裡, 今朝夜頭, 今朝夜到, 今朝夜快頭
Xiang	Quanzhou	今天晚上
Note	GT - General Taiwanese (no specific region identified)

Dialectal synonyms of 今晚 (“tonight; this evening”) [map]

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (今宵):

• → Korean: 금소(今宵) (geumso)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
今	宵
こ Grade: 2	よい Grade: S
irregular	kun'yomi

Etymology

⟨ko₂ yo₂pi₁⟩ → */kəjəpʲi/ → /kojofi/ → /kojowi/ → /kojoi/

From Old Japanese. Compound of 此 (ko, “this”) +‎ 宵 (yoi, “evening”).^[1][2]

The use of 今 (“now”) to spell the ko ("this") portion is an example of jukujikun (熟字訓), from Chinese 今宵 (jīnxiāo).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) こよい [kòyóí] (Heiban – [0])^[2][3]
• IPA^(key): [ko̞jo̞i]

Noun

今(こ)宵(よい) • (koyoi) ^{←こよひ (koyofi)?}

1. (poetic) this evening, tonight

   Synonyms: 今晩 (konban), 今夜 (kon'ya)

   • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 14, poem 3469:
     ,^[4] text here

     由布氣尓毛(ゆふけにも)許余比(こよひ)登乃良路(とのらろ)和賀西奈波(わがせなは)阿是曽母(あぜぞも)許与比(こよひ)与斯呂伎麻左奴(よしろきまさぬ) [Man'yōgana]

     夕(ゆふ)占(け)にもこよひと告(の)らろ我(わ)が背(せ)なはあぜぞもこよひ寄(よ)しろ来(き)まさぬ [Modern spelling]

     yūke ni mo koyoi to noraro waga sena wa aze zo mo koyoi yoshiro-kimasenu

     (please add an English translation of this example)

2. (in the morning, from the perspective of “this night (that has just ended)”) last night

   Synonyms: 昨晩 (sakuban), 夕べ (yūbe)

References

1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
3. Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
4. Satake, Akihiro with Hideo Yamada, Rikio Kudō, Masao Ōtani, and Yoshiyuki Yamazaki (c. 759) Shin Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 3: Man’yōshū 3 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, published 2002, →ISBN.