暗 (àn): dark
暗 (àn) is a Chinese character meaning “dark.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 日 (semantic) and 音 (phonetic). It ranks #829 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 暗 sun. Its radical form 日 (sun) appears in many related characters such as 日 (rì, sun, day), 早 (zǎo, early, morning), 时 (shí, time, hour).
Definitions
- dark
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 暗 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 暗
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 暗杀 | àn shā | to assassinate |
| 暗号 | àn hào | secret signal (sign) |
| 阴暗 | yīn àn | dim |
| 暗中 | àn zhōng | in the dark |
| 暗算 | àn suàn | to plot against |
| 暗语 | àn yǔ | code word |
| 暗地里 | àn dì li | secretly |
| 暗礁 | àn jiāo | submerged reef (rock) |
| 暗处 | àn chù | secret place |
| 暗影 | àn yǐng | shadow |
| 暗黑 | àn hēi | dark |
| 灰暗 | huī àn | dull gray |
| 昏暗 | hūn àn | dusky |
| 阴暗面 | yīn àn miàn | the dark side (of society etc) |
| 暗淡 | àn dàn | dark |
暗 appears in 100 compound words: 86 as the first character, 11 as the last, and 3 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 暗 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (14)
short for 明修棧道，暗渡陳倉／明修栈道，暗渡陈仓 (míngxiūzhàndào, àndùchéncāng, “to do one thing under cover of another”)
to give someone the eye; to cast coquettish glances at someone; to curry favour with someone secretly
an enchanting sight in springtime; at one's darkest hour, a glimmer of hope
to observe publicly and investigate privately; to conduct a thorough investigation
to observe publicly and investigate privately; to conduct a thorough investigation
short for 明修棧道，暗渡陳倉／明修栈道，暗渡陈仓 (míngxiūzhàndào, àndùchéncāng, “to do one thing under cover of another”)
to give someone the eye; to cast coquettish glances at someone; to curry favour with someone secretly
Showing 12 of 14 idioms containing 暗.
Example Sentences
这个房间的采光不好，白天也需要开灯。
Zhè gè fángjiān de cǎiguāng bù hǎo, báitiān yě xūyào kāidēng.
This room has poor natural lighting; lights are needed even during the day.
...影后再演少女啜爆细30年小鲜肉 同剧男星暗寸“工伤”遭炎上
. . . yǐng hòu zài yǎn shǎo nǚ 啜 bào xì 3 0 nián xiǎo xiān ròu tóng jù nán xīng àn cùn gōng shāng zāo yán shàng
... The actress played the girl who sucked the small fresh meat for 30 years, and the male star in the same play was secretly "injured at work" and was burned
...手握670亿订单“重剑”,却遭Q1指引“暗箭”
. . . shǒu wò 6 7 0 yì dìng dān chóng jiàn , què zāo Q 1 zhǐ yǐn àn jiàn
... Holding the "heavy sword" of 67 billion orders, but being guided by Q1
嘉市长选举传黄敏惠暗助王美惠 副市长辟谣:分化国民党
jiā shì cháng xuǎn jǔ chuán huáng mǐn huì àn zhù wáng měi huì fù shì cháng pì yáo : fēn huà guó mín dǎng
Jia mayoral election rumored that Huang Minhui secretly helped Wang Meihui Deputy mayor refuted rumors: divide the Kuomintang
...;鸿蒙智行尊界 SUV 伪装车曝光;月之暗面成国内最快晋级十角兽公司;曝腾讯关闭天...
. . . ; 鸿 méng zhì háng zūn jiè S U V wěi zhuāng chē pù guāng ; yuè zhī àn miàn chéng guó nèi zuì kuài jìn jí shí jiǎo shòu gōng sī ; pù téng xùn guān bì tiān . . .
...; HarmonyOS Zhixing Zunjie SUV camouflage car exposed; The dark side of the moon became the fastest domestic company to advance to the decacorn company; It was revealed that Tencent was closed for a day...
Kimi母公司月之暗面完成超7亿美元融资,新一轮超..
mǔ gōng sī yuè zhī àn miàn wán chéng chāo yì měi yuán róng zī , xīn yī lún chāo . .
Kimi's parent company Dark Side of the Moon closes over $700 million in funding, a new round of over...
猫在黑暗中都是灰色的。
Māo zài hēi'àn Zhōngdū shì huīsè de.
At night all cats are grey.
法兰克用暗号留下了一则讯息。
Fǎlánkè yòng ànhào liúxià le yīzé xùnxī.
Frank left a message by means of a secret code.
他们企图暗杀总统。
Tāmen qǐtú ànshā zǒngtǒng.
They attempted to assassinate the president.
非洲曾经被称为黑暗大陆。
Fēizhōu céngjīng bèi chēngwéi hēi'àn dàlù.
Africa was once called the Dark Continent.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 暗 (àn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 暗 and 灯?
How many strokes does 暗 have?
What is the radical of 暗?
What are the components of 暗?
What are common words containing 暗?
What characters sound the same as 暗 (àn)?
Is 暗 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 暗 with real-time feedback
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