Chinese

Noun

今宵

1. tonight

Synonyms

• 今夜 (jīnyè), 今晚 (jīnwǎn)

Japanese

Etymology

/ko₂jo₂hi₁/: */kəjəpi/ → /kojoɸi/ → /kojowi/ → /kojoi/

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

今宵 ‎(hiragana こよい, romaji koyoi, historical hiragana こよひ)

1. this evening, tonight
   • c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 14, poem 3469)

     由布氣尓毛 許余比登乃良路 和賀西奈波 阿是曽母許与比 与斯呂伎麻左奴^[4]

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

Synonyms

• (this evening): 今晩 (こんばん) ‎(konban)
• (tonight): 今夜 (こんや) ‎(kon'ya)
• (last night): 夕 (ゆう)べ ‎(yūbe), 昨晩 (さくばん) ‎(sakuban)

References

1. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
3. ↑ 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13143-0
4. ↑ Satake, Akihiro; Hideo Yamada; Rikio Kudō; Masao Ōtani; Yoshiyuki Yamazaki (c. 759) Shin Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 3: Man’yōshū 3 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, ISBN 978-4-00-240003-7, published 2002.