# 黑暗
## Chinese
### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): hēi'àn
    (Zhuyin): ㄏㄟ ㄢˋ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): hak$^1$ am$^3$ / haak$^1$ am$^3$
* Hakka (Sixian, PFS): het-am
* Southern Min
    (Hokkien, POJ): hek-àm
    (Teochew, Peng'im): hêg$^4$ am$^3$
* Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): he$^6$ ngan$^4$
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: hēi'àn
*** Zhuyin: ㄏㄟ ㄢˋ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: hei-àn
*** Wade–Giles: hei$^1$-an$^4$
*** Yale: hēi-àn
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: heiann
*** Palladius: хэйань (xɛjanʹ)
*** Sinological IPA : /xeɪ̯⁵⁵ ˀän⁵¹/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: hak$^1$ am$^3$ / haak$^1$ am$^3$
*** Yale: hāk am / hāak am
*** Cantonese Pinyin: hak$^7$ am$^3$ / haak$^7$ am$^3$
*** Guangdong Romanization: heg$^1$ em$^3$ / hag$^1$ em$^3$
*** Sinological IPA : /hɐk̚⁵ ɐm³³/, /haːk̚⁵ ɐm³³/
* Hakka
** (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: het-am
*** Hakka Romanization System: hed$^ˋ$ am
*** Hagfa Pinyim: hed$^5$ am$^4$
*** Sinological IPA: /het̚² am⁵⁵/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hek-àm
*** Tâi-lô: hik-àm
*** Phofsit Daibuun: hek'axm
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /hiɪk̚³²⁻⁴ am²¹/
*** IPA (Taipei): /hiɪk̚³²⁻⁴ am¹¹/
** (Teochew)
*** Peng'im: hêg$^4$ am$^3$
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hek àm
*** Sinological IPA : /hek̚²⁻⁴ am²¹³/
* Xiang
** (Changsha)
*** Wiktionary: he$^6$ ngan$^4$
*** Sinological IPA : /xɤ̞²⁴ ŋan⁴⁵/
* Middle Chinese: xok 'omH
Rime :
| Character | 黑 | 暗 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 曉 (32) | 影 (34) |
| Final (韻) | 德 (131) | 覃 (159) |
| Tone (調) | Checked (Ø) | Departing (H) |
| Openness (開合) | Open | Open |
| Division (等) | I | I |
| Fanqie | 呼北切 | 烏紺切 |
| Baxter | xok | 'omH |
| Reconstructions |||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /hək̚/ | /ʔʌm$^H$/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /hək̚/ | /ʔəm$^H$/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /xək̚/ | /ʔɒm$^H$/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /hək̚/ | /ʔəm$^H$/ |
| Li Rong | /xək̚/ | /ʔᴀm$^H$/ |
| Wang Li | /xək̚/ | /ɒm$^H$/ |
| Bernard Karlgren | /xək̚/ | /ʔăm$^H$/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | he | àn |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | hak$^1$ | am$^3$ |

### Etymology 1
#### Adjective

黑暗
* dark; unlighted
       Tāmen bèi rén qūgǎn jìnrù yī ge hēi'àn de dìláo. [Pinyin]
       They were driven into a dark dungeon.
    From: 新標點和合本 (Chinese Union Version), 約翰福音 (John) 1:5
    Guāng zhào zài hēi'àn lǐ, hēi'àn què bù jiēshòu guāng. [Pinyin]
    And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
* (figurative) backward; unenlightened; evil; corrupt; sordid; dark
    一個黑暗的世界／一个黑暗的世界 ― yīge hēi'àn de shìjiè ― a dark world

##### Synonyms

* (dark):
* 冥冥 (míngmíng) (literary)
* 慘／惨 (cǎn) (literary, or in compounds)
* 慘淡／惨淡 (cǎndàn)
* 慘白／惨白 (cǎnbái)
* 昏暗 (hūn'àn)
* 昏沉 (hūnchén)
* 昏黑 (hūnhēi)
* 晦冥 (huìmíng) (literary, used both literally and figuratively)
* 晦暗 (huì'àn) (literary)
* 暗淡 (àndàn) (used both literally and figuratively)
* 烏暗／乌暗 (Hokkien, Teochew)
* 陰幽／阴幽 (yīnyōu) (literary)

##### Antonyms

* (antonym(s) of “dark”): 光明 (guāngmíng)

##### Derived terms

* 烏同黑暗／乌同黑暗
* 黑暗世界
* 黑暗史 (hēi'ànshǐ)
* 黑暗地獄／黑暗地狱
* 黑暗大陸／黑暗大陆
* 黑暗料理 (hēi'àn liàolǐ)
* 黑暗時代／黑暗时代 (Hēi'ànshídài)
* 黑暗獄／黑暗狱

### Etymology 2

The 9th-century Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang described 黑暗 (MC xok 'omH, “lit. black-dark”) as the name for “rhinoceros(-horn)” in the place Po-se (波斯 (Bōsī), “Persia”), in parallel to 白暗 (MC baek 'omH, “lit. white-dark”), the designation for “ivory”.
Laufer (1914: 145) and Laufer (1967: 473) pointed out that these names cannot be Persian, but are Malayan in origin. Additionally, it is clear that neither the Malayan words for “rhinoceros-horn” and “ivory”, nor the words for “rhinoceros” and “elephant”, are implicated in these etymologies. It appears that these two Chinese words are corruptions of the colour names “black” and “white”, with which the local traders in Malaya at the time distinguished rhinoceros-horn and ivory.
Laufer compared the former with Jarai [Term?] (hötam), Cebuano itom, Malay hitam, Javanese item, Tagalog itim, all meaning “black” (in Austronesian languages), and the latter with: Čam bauṅ, boṅ, or bhuṅ; Senoi biūg, other forms in the Sakei and Semang languages of Malakka biok, biäk, biēg, begiäk, bekuṅ, bekog; Alfur, Boloven, Kon tu, Kaseng, Lave, and Niah bok, Sedeng röboṅ, Stieng bōk (“white”); Bahnar bak (Mon bu), most of which are the Mon-Khmer words for “white” (proto-form *kɓɔɔk and *kbooʔ).

#### Noun

黑暗
* (obsolete) rhinoceros horn

##### See also

* 白暗 (bái'àn)

## Japanese

Kanji in this term :
| 黑 | 暗 |
| こく Jinmeiyō | あん Grade: 3 |
| on'yomi | kan'on |
For pronunciation and definitions of 黑暗 – see the following entry. :
| 【黒暗こくあん】 | [noun] absolute darkness [noun] (Buddhism) a complete lack of virtue or wisdom [noun] pure black (color/colour) Alternative spelling 黒闇 |
(This term, 黑暗, is the kyūjitai of the above term.) :

## Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term :
| 黑 | 暗 |

### Noun

黑暗
* chữ Hán form of hắc ám (“dark; unlighted”).