Definition

1. Adjective / Adverb:
   • Dusk, twilight, nightfall: Describes the dim, transitional period of light just as day ends and night begins, when it is neither fully light nor fully dark. It specifically indicates the onset of darkness.
   • Glimmering, faintly lit: Can describe a very weak, faint, or barely perceptible light, often in a dark or dim context.

Usage Examples

• Adjective / Adverb:
  • Trời đã nhá nhem tối. (It was already dusk.)
  • Anh ấy về nhà lúc nhá nhem. (He returned home at twilight.)
  • Chỉ còn ánh lửa nhá nhem trong lều. (There was only a glimmering firelight in the tent.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "nhá nhem" is almost exclusively used to describe the time of day or the quality of light at that time. It is a poetic and descriptive term, more literary than colloquial.
• It often forms the common phrase "nhá nhem tối" (dusky, growing dark), which functions as a set expression.

Variants and Related Words

• Chạng vạng (n): Twilight, dusk. A more common synonym for the time of day.
  • Giờ chạng vạng là lúc đẹp nhất. (Twilight hour is the most beautiful.)
• Hoàng hôn (n): Sunset. Refers more to the event and the colors in the sky.
  • Hoàng hôn trên biển thật lộng lẫy. (The sunset over the sea is magnificent.)

Synonyms

• Twilight: The soft, diffused light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon.
• Dusk: The darker stage of twilight, especially at nightfall.
• Glimmer: A faint, wavering light.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Nhá nhem tối: The standard phrase meaning "at dusk" or "as night falls."
  • Công việc kết thúc vào lúc nhá nhem tối. (The work finished at nightfall.)

1. at dusk
   • lúc nhá nhem tối
     at nightfall