半夜三更

bànyè-sāngēng

idiom #25,671

Meanings

1 the dead of night
2 in the middle of the night
3 the small hours

Characters

watch (unit of night time)

Examples

都半夜三更了，你怎么还没睡？

Dōu bànyèsāngēng le, nǐ zěnme hái méi shuì?

It's the dead of night — why haven't you gone to sleep yet?

他半夜三更跑来敲门，把我吓了一跳。

Tā bànyèsāngēng pǎo lái qiāomén, bǎ wǒ xià le yī tiào.

He came knocking in the middle of the night and gave me a fright.

Tips

history

三更 refers to the third of the five night watches in the traditional Chinese timekeeping system, corresponding to roughly 11 PM–1 AM — the deepest part of the night.

Stroke Order

半 bàn

夜 yè

三 sān

更 gèng