日没

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: The spelling is 日没, read にちぼつ, and it combines 日, meaning sun, with 没, meaning sink or set.
• Basic usage: The basic sense of 日没 is sunset, either the sun's descent below the horizon or the time around that event.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• A deadline and a simultaneous change
  • Both examples use the form 日没. 日没までに makes sunset the deadline for arrival, while 日没とともに marks a change occurring together with sunset.
• A mountain plan and the seaside sky
  • 日没までに山小屋へ着く予定だ。 — We plan to reach the mountain hut by sunset.
  • 海辺では日没とともに空の色が急に変わった。 — At the beach, the sky's color changed rapidly as the sun set.