三更半夜
sān gēng bàn yè
Pinyin

Definition

三更半夜
 - 
sān gēng bàn yè
  1. in the depth of the night
  2. very late at night

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

Sān
  1. 1 surname San
  1. 1 variant of 夜[yè]
bàn
  1. 1 half
  2. 2 semi-
  3. 3 incomplete
  4. 4 (after a number) and a half
yè jiān
  1. 1 nighttime
  2. 2 evening or night (e.g. classes)
gēng
  1. 1 to change or replace
  2. 2 to experience
  3. 3 one of the five two-hour periods into which the night was formerly divided
  4. 4 watch (e.g. of a sentry or guard)
gēng xīn
  1. 1 to replace the old with new
  2. 2 to renew
  3. 3 to renovate
  4. 4 to upgrade
  5. 5 to update
  6. 6 to regenerate
yī bàn
  1. 1 half
Sān yà
  1. 1 Sanya prefecture level city, Hainan
sān shí
  1. 1 thirty
  2. 2 30
Sān chà kǒu
  1. 1 At the Crossroads, famous opera, based on a story from 水滸傳|水浒传[Shuǐ hǔ Zhuàn]
Sān xiá
  1. 1 Three Gorges on the Chang Jiang or Yangtze, namely: Qutang Gorge 瞿塘峽|瞿塘峡[Qú táng Xiá], Wuxia Gorge 巫峽|巫峡[Wū Xiá] and Xiling Gorge 西陵峽|西陵峡[Xī líng Xiá]
  2. 2 Sanxia or Sanhsia town in New Taipei City 新北市[Xīn běi shì], Taiwan
sān wén yú
  1. 1 salmon (loanword)
Sān xīng
  1. 1 Sanxing or Sanhsing township in Yilan county 宜蘭縣|宜兰县[Yí lán xiàn], Taiwan
  2. 2 Samsung (South Korean electronics company)
sān gēng bàn yè
  1. 1 in the depth of the night
  2. 2 very late at night
Sān yuè
  1. 1 March
  2. 2 third month (of the lunar year)
sān shēng yǒu xìng
  1. 1 the blessing of three lifetimes (idiom)
  2. 2 (courteous language) it's my good fortune...
sān jiǎo
  1. 1 triangle
Sān lǐ tún
  1. 1 Sanlitun (Beijing street name)
xià bàn nián
  1. 1 second half of the year
jīn yè
  1. 1 tonight
  2. 2 this evening

Idioms (20)

一倡三叹
yī chàng sān tàn
  1. 1 (of literature, music) deeply moving (idiom)
一哭二闹三上吊
yī kū èr nào sān shàng diào
  1. 1 to make a terrible scene (idiom)
  2. 2 to throw a tantrum
一问三不知
yī wèn sān bù zhī
  1. 1 lit. to reply "don't know" whatever the question (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. absolutely no idea of what's going on
  3. 3 complete ignorance
一日三秋
yī rì sān qiū
  1. 1 a single day apart seems like three seasons (idiom)
一日不见,如隔三秋
yī rì bù jiàn , rú gé sān qiū
  1. 1 one day apart seems like three years (idiom)
一板三眼
yī bǎn sān yǎn
  1. 1 lit. one strong beat and three weak beats in a measure of music (four beats in the bar) (idiom); fig. scrupulous attention to detail
一瓶子不响,半瓶子晃荡
yī píng zi bù xiǎng , bàn píng zi huàng dang
  1. 1 lit. a full bottle makes no sound; a half-filled bottle sloshes (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. empty vessels make the most noise
一知半解
yī zhī bàn jiě
  1. 1 lit. to know one and understand half (idiom); a smattering of knowledge
  2. 2 dilettante
  3. 3 amateur
一鳞半爪
yī lín bàn zhuǎ
  1. 1 lit. one scale and half a claw (idiom); only odd bits and pieces
三七二十一
sān qī èr shí yī
  1. 1 three sevens are twenty-one (idiom)
  2. 2 the facts of the matter
  3. 3 the actual situation
三下两下
sān xià liǎng xià
  1. 1 quickly and effortlessly (idiom)
三五成群
sān wǔ chéng qún
  1. 1 in groups of three or four (idiom)
三人成虎
sān rén chéng hǔ
  1. 1 three men talking makes a tiger (idiom); repeated rumor becomes a fact
三人行,必有我师
sān rén xíng , bì yǒu wǒ shī
  1. 1 lit. if three walk together, one can be my teacher (idiom, from the Analects of Confucius)
  2. 2 you have sth to learn from everyone
三令五申
sān lìng wǔ shēn
  1. 1 to order again and again (idiom)
三个和尚没水喝
sān gè hé shang méi shuǐ hē
  1. 1 lit. three monks have no water to drink (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. everybody's business is nobody's business
  3. 3 (If there is one monk, he will fetch water for himself. If there are two, they will fetch water together. But if there are three or more, none will take it upon himself to fetch water.)
三个女人一台戏
sān ge nu:3 rén yī tái xì
  1. 1 three women are enough for a drama (idiom)
三个臭皮匠,合成一个诸葛亮
sān gè chòu pí jiang , hé chéng yī gè Zhū gě Liàng
  1. 1 lit. three ignorant cobblers add up to a genius (idiom); fig. collective wisdom
三个臭皮匠,赛过一个诸葛亮
sān gè chòu pí jiang , sài guò yī gè Zhū gě Liàng
  1. 1 lit. three ignorant cobblers add up to a genius (idiom); fig. collective wisdom
  2. 2 wisdom of the masses exceeds that of any individual
三个臭皮匠,赛过诸葛亮
sān gè chòu pí jiang , sài guò Zhū gě Liàng
  1. 1 lit. three ignorant cobblers add up to a genius (idiom); fig. collective wisdom
  2. 2 wisdom of the masses exceeds that of any individual

Sample Sentences

当年精力可真充沛,三更半夜还精神抖擞,通宵一夜第二天还能直接去上课。
dāngnián jīnglì kě zhēn chōngpèi ,sāngēngbànyè huán jīngshéndǒusǒu ,tōngxiāo yìyè dìèrtiān hái néng zhíjiē qù shàngkè 。
At that time, energy levels were very high. In the middle of the night, I was still full of energy and I could go to class the next day.
Go to Lesson 
加油?明天加不行吗?非得三更半夜去加油。
jiāyóu ?míngtiān jiā bùxíng ma ?fēiděi sāngēngbànyè qù jiāyóu 。
Get gas? You can't get gas tomorrow? You have to get it in the middle of the night?
Go to Lesson