黎明

• 読み: れいめい
• ローマ字: reimei
• 漢字の分解: 黎 (rei) — dark, dim, multitude; 明 (mei/aka) — bright, light, clear
• 発音: /ɾeː.meː/

意味

Dawn; daybreak; the first light of day. Also used metaphorically for the earliest, formative beginnings of something.

黎明 is more literary and elevated than 夜明け (the everyday word for dawn). Its metaphorical use — the 黎明 of a movement, science, or civilisation — is particularly common in formal writing, speeches, and academic prose. 黎明を告げる (to herald the dawn of) is a set phrase used for announcing the beginning of a new era. The character 黎 means 'darkish/dim' and 明 means 'bright' — capturing the liminal moment when darkness yields to light.

例文

1. その革命は近代民主主義の黎明を告げる出来事として歴史に刻まれた。
2. 黎明の光が山頂を染め始めた頃、登山者たちは最後の登りに挑んだ。
3. 人類の宇宙探索の黎明を支えた科学者たちの情熱は、今も語り継がれている。

使い方ガイド

場面: literature, history, science, journalism

トーン: poetic

起源と歴史

From Classical Chinese. 黎 means 'dark, dim, multitude' and 明 means 'bright, light' — together capturing the transitional moment between night and full daylight. The metaphorical extension to new beginnings follows naturally from the image of darkness giving way.

文化的背景

時代: Classical–Modern

世代: Adults (literary/academic)

社会的背景: Academic/Literary