深更半夜

shēngēng-bànyè

idiom

Meanings

1 in the dead of night
2 the small hours

Characters

Examples

深更半夜的，你去哪儿？

Shēngēngbànyè de, nǐ qùnǎr?

It's the middle of the night — where are you going?

他经常深更半夜才回家。

Tā jīngcháng shēngēngbànyè cái huíjiā.

He often gets home in the dead of night.

Tips

culture

更 (gēng) refers to the five night watches of imperial China, each about two hours. 三更 (sān gēng, roughly 11pm–1am) is the classic witching hour — hence the common 半夜三更.

Stroke Order

深 shēn

更 gèng

半 bàn

夜 yè