黑暗

See also: 黒暗

Chinese

		black; dark; Heilongjiang Province (abbrev.)	dark; gloomy; hidden dark; gloomy; hidden; secret
simp. and trad. (黑暗)		黑	暗
alternative forms		黑黯
anagram		暗黑

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): hēi'àn

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄟ ㄢˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): hak¹ am³, haak¹ am³
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): het-am
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): hek-àm

  (Teochew, Peng'im): hêg⁴ am³

• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): he⁶ ngan⁴

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: hēi'àn
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄟ ㄢˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: hei-àn
    • Wade–Giles: hei¹-an⁴
    • Yale: hēi-àn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: heiann
    • Palladius: хэйань (xɛjanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xeɪ̯⁵⁵ ˀän⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: hak¹ am³, haak¹ am³
    • Yale: hāk am, hāak am
    • Cantonese Pinyin: hak⁷ am³, haak⁷ am³
    • Guangdong Romanization: heg¹ em³, hag¹ em³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɐk̚⁵ ɐm³³/, /haːk̚⁵ ɐm³³/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: het-am
    • Hakka Romanization System: hed` am
    • Hagfa Pinyim: hed⁵ am⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /het̚² am⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hek-àm
    • Tâi-lô: hik-àm
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hek'axm
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /hiɪk̚³²⁻⁴ am²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /hiɪk̚³²⁻⁴ am¹¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: hêg⁴ am³
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hek àm
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hek̚²⁻⁴ am²¹³/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: he⁶ ngan⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xɤ̞²⁴ ŋan⁴⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: xok 'omH

Rime
Character	黑	暗
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	曉 (32)	影 (34)
Final (韻)	登 (131)	覃 (159)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	I
Fanqie	呼北切	烏紺切
Baxter	xok	'omH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/hək̚/	/ʔʌmH/
Pan Wuyun	/hək̚/	/ʔəmH/
Shao Rongfen	/xək̚/	/ʔɒmH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/hək̚/	/ʔəmH/
Li Rong	/xək̚/	/ʔᴀmH/
Wang Li	/xək̚/	/ɒmH/
Bernard Karlgren	/xək̚/	/ʔămH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	he	àn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	hak1	am3

Etymology 1

Adjective

黑暗

1. dark; unlighted

   他們被人驅趕進入一個黑暗的地牢。 [MSC, trad.]
   他们被人驱赶进入一个黑暗的地牢。 [MSC, simp.]

   Tāmen bèi rén qūgǎn jìnrù yī ge hēi'àn de dìláo. [Pinyin]

   They were driven into a dark dungeon.

   • 光照在黑暗裏，黑暗卻不接受光。 [MSC, trad.]
     光照在黑暗里，黑暗却不接受光。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 新標點和合本 (Chinese Union Version), 約翰福音 (John) 1:5

     Guāng zhào zài hēi'àn lǐ, hēi'àn què bù jiēshòu guāng. [Pinyin]

     And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

2. (figurative) backward; unenlightened; evil; corrupt; sordid; dark

   一個黑暗的世界／一个黑暗的世界  ―  yīge hēi'àn de shìjiè  ―  a dark world

Synonyms

• (dark):

• 冥冥 (míngmíng) (literary)
• 慘／惨 (cǎn) (literary, or in compounds)
• 慘淡／惨淡 (cǎndàn)
• 慘白／惨白 (cǎnbái)
• 昏暗 (hūn'àn)
• 昏沉 (hūnchén)
• 昏黑 (hūnhēi)
• 晦冥 (huìmíng) (literary, used both literally and figuratively)
• 晦暗 (huì'àn) (literary)
• 暗淡 (àndàn) (used both literally and figuratively)
• 烏暗／乌暗 (Hokkien, Teochew)
• 陰幽／阴幽 (yīnyōu) (literary)

 

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of "dark"): 光明 (guāngmíng)

Derived terms

• 烏同黑暗／乌同黑暗
• 黑暗世界
• 黑暗史 (hēi'ànshǐ)
• 黑暗地獄／黑暗地狱
• 黑暗大陸／黑暗大陆
• 黑暗料理 (hēi'àn liàolǐ)
• 黑暗時代／黑暗时代 (Hēi'ànshídài)
• 黑暗獄／黑暗狱

 

Etymology 2

The 9^th-century Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang described 黑暗 (MC xok 'omH, “lit. black-dark”) as the name for “rhinoceros(-horn)” in the place Po-se (波斯 (Bōsī), “Persia”), in parallel to 白暗 (MC baek 'omH, “lit. white-dark”), the designation for “ivory”.

Laufer (1914: 145) and Laufer (1967: 473) pointed out that these names cannot be Persian, but are Malayan in origin. Additionally, it is clear that neither the Malayan words for “rhinoceros-horn” and “ivory”, nor the words for “rhinoceros” and “elephant”, are implicated in these etymologies. It appears that these two Chinese words are corruptions of the colour names “black” and “white”, with which the local traders in Malaya at the time distinguished rhinoceros-horn and ivory.

Laufer compared the former with Jarai [Term?] (hötam), Cebuano itom, Malay hitam, Javanese item, Tagalog itim, all meaning “black” (in Austronesian languages), and the latter with: Čam bauṅ, boṅ, or bhuṅ; Senoi biūg, other forms in the Sakei and Semang languages of Malakka biok, biäk, biēg, begiäk, bekuṅ, bekog; Alfur, Boloven, Kon tu, Kaseng, Lave, and Niah bok, Sedeng röboṅ, Stieng bōk (“white”); Bahnar bak (Mon bu), most of which are the Mon-Khmer words for “white” (proto-form *kɓɔɔk and *kbooʔ).

Noun

黑暗

1. (obsolete) rhinoceros horn

See also

• 白暗 (bái'àn)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
黑	暗
こく Jinmeiyō	あん Grade: 3
on’yomi	kan’on

For pronunciation and definitions of 黑暗 – see the following entry.

【黒暗こくあん】 [noun] absolute darkness [noun] (Buddhism) a complete lack of virtue or wisdom [noun] (color) pure black Alternative spelling 黒闇

(This term, 黑暗, is the kyūjitai of the above term.)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
黑	暗

Noun

黑暗

1. chữ Hán form of hắc ám (“dark; unlighted”).