暮れる

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 暮れる (くれる) is an intransitive verb for daylight fading or a year or period drawing to its end.
• Basic usage: A hiker descends before dark; a speaker watches another year close without accomplishing much.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Daylight ending and a calendar year approaching its close
  • 日が暮れる is the natural onset of evening, while 今年も暮れていく is the passage toward year-end. Literal brightness is not the focus of the second.