星明かり
hoshiakari[ho̞ɕia̠ka̠ɾʲi]
The English phrase "starlight" can be translated into Japanese as 星明かり (hoshiakari). Wiktionary also lists 星の光 (hoshi no hikari).
Meaning: light emitted from stars other than the Sun (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 星明かり | hoshiakari | [ho̞ɕia̠ka̠ɾʲi] (narrow) |
| 星の光 | hoshi no hikari |
The word 星明かり is often used in a poetic or descriptive sense to describe a night illuminated by starlight.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 星明かり is a compound of 星 (star) and 明かり (light/brightness).
Which one should you use?
星明かり (hoshiakari) refers more to the ambient light or the illumination provided by the stars, whereas 星の光 (hoshi no hikari) refers more literally to the light rays or the light itself coming from a star.
How do you pronounce it?
hoshiakari
Did you know?
- In Japanese culture, the 'starlight' of the summer sky is inextricably linked to the legend of Tanabata, where two stars meet once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month.
- The word 星 (hoshi) can also refer to 'celestial bodies' in a broader astronomical sense, but in many classical Japanese poems, it is used metaphorically to represent a person's fate or a fixed destiny.
- The kanji for 'star', 星, is also the same character used for 'planet' in many contexts. Therefore, a sentence describing 星明かり could technically refer to the light of a planet if the context is ambiguous.
Examples in context
- 星明かりがとても綺麗です。hoshiakari ga totemo kirei desu.The starlight is very beautiful.
- 星明かりの中で歩きましょう。hoshiakari no naka de arukimashou.Let's walk in the starlight.
Example conversation
Daito and Yui are looking at the night sky in the countryside.
- 大翔 Hirotoここに来ると、星明かりがとても綺麗だね。Koko ni kuru to, hoshiakari ga totemo kirei da ne.When we come here, the starlight is so beautiful, isn't it?
- 結衣 Yui本当に。街ではこんなに見えないよ。Hontou ni. Machi de wa konna ni mienai yo.It really is. You can't see it like this in the city.
- 大翔 Hiroto星明かりだけで道が見えそうだよ。Hoshiakari dake de michi ga miesou da yo.It feels like I can see the path just by the starlight.
- 結衣 Yuiでも、足元には気をつけて歩こうね。Demo, ashimoto ni wa ki o tsukete arukou ne.But let's be careful where we step while we walk.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “starlight” translations and entries 星明かり, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
