Explore 暮 in words for living and the close of a day or year.

The idea

暮 has 14 strokes; follow the linked diagram. Learn 暮らす（くらす）, 暮らし（くらし）, 暮れる（くれる） and 夕暮れ（ゆうぐれ） as whole words. The on-reading ボ appears in compounds such as 歳暮（せいぼ）.

Patterns to compare
WordReadingExample in context
暮らすくらすMy grandmother lives alone.
暮らしくらしLife in the countryside is quiet.
暮れるくれるLet’s go home before it gets dark.
夕暮れゆうぐれThe evening sky is beautiful.

Examples

  • 祖母そぼは一人ひとりで暮くらしています。My grandmother lives alone.
  • 私わたしたちは海うみの近ちかくで暮くらしています。We live near the sea.
  • 田舎いなかの暮くらしは静しずかです。Life in the countryside is quiet.
  • 日ひが暮くれる前まえに帰かえりましょう。Let’s go home before it gets dark.
  • 夕暮ゆうぐれの空そらがきれいです。The evening sky is beautiful.
  • 年としの暮くれは仕事しごとが忙いそがしいです。Work is busy at the end of the year.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

暮らす means to live or spend one’s life; 暮れる describes the day growing dark or a period ending. Do not swap their okurigana.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 暮らす in hiragana.

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    くらす

    くらす is the reading of 暮らす, to live; for example, someone can live alone.

  2. Write the reading of 夕暮れ in hiragana.

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    ゆうぐれ

    ゆうぐれ is the reading of 夕暮れ, dusk; the compound has a voiced ぐ.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: 日が＿れる［暮／住］.

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    暮

    暮 completes 日が暮れる, “the day grows dark”; 住 cannot form this verb.

Use it today

Write 暮 using the diagram, then cover the table and read 暮らす and 夕暮れ. Make a sentence about your life.