[Vocabulary] The difference of evening, afternoon and night

[babybell2016]

Lots of person are confused with the words evening, afternoon and night, can you let me know what is the exactly time of evening, afternoon and night?

 

[5jj]

There are no exact times.

For me, the afternoon goes on until the light and/or warmth of the day begin to fade, or until about 19.00, whichever is later. The evening begins when he afternoon ends, and goes on until I go to bed.

 

[babybell2016]

Thanks for your answer. Normally, when I get a call around 3 or 4 pm, they will say to me "good evening", but some person said that evening will start after dinner, then what about "night"

 

[jutfrank]

We can't give you exact times. That isn't how these words work. Here's a very rough guide:

Night is the opposite of day. That is, during the day, the sun is in the sky and it is light. In contrast, at night, the sun has set behind the Earth and it is dark outside.

Afternoon is the time of the day following noon. Noon is the time when the sun is at its highest point in the sky, which means that in the afternoon, the sun is still relatively high, but heading down.

Evening starts when the sun is low in the sky, getting ready to set. Evening continues past sunset into the night. We usually say it's evening when we mean people are still awake and doing things, before they go to bed. We don't normally refer to the time after midnight as 'evening'.

 

[jutfrank]

Thanks for your answer. Normally, when I get a call around 3 or 4 pm, they will say to me "good evening"

That's very strange. I don't know anybody who would do that. Who are these people? Where do they live? Are you sure it's not a different time where they are?

 

[emsr2d2]

Lots of [STRIKE]person[/STRIKE] people are confused [STRIKE]with[/STRIKE] by/about the words "evening", "afternoon" and "night". Can you [STRIKE]let[/STRIKE] tell me [STRIKE]know[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]what is[/STRIKE] the [STRIKE]exactly[/STRIKE] exact times of evening, afternoon and night?

Thanks for your answer. Normally, when I get a call around 3 or 4 pm, [STRIKE]they will[/STRIKE] people say to me "Good evening", but [STRIKE]some person said[/STRIKE] someone told me that evening [STRIKE]will[/STRIKE] starts after dinner. [STRIKE]then[/STRIKE] What about "night"?

Please note my corrections above.

As 5jj has said, there is no universal agreement on the times of those terms. For me, the only one that can have a time attached is afternoon - it starts at 12.01pm (one minute after midday, so the word comes from "after+noon").

Note that your title should say "The difference between ...". However, you weren't asking us about the difference between them. You were asking us for specific times for each.

 

[5jj]

For me, the only one that can have a time attached is afternoon - it starts at 12.01pm (one minute after midday, so the word comes from "after+noon").

That's true for the watch watchers. I suspect quite a few people are like me - the morning goes up to lunchtime, and the afternoon begins after lunch.

 

[emsr2d2]

That's true for the watch watchers. I suspect quite a few people are like me - the morning goes up to lunchtime, and the afternoon begins after lunch.

For someone with a collection of clocks, I'm surprised! ;-) Maybe I'm a bit more OCD than I thought - if I say (or someone else says) "Good morning" at a point when I'm not quite sure if we've hit noon yet, I'll check my watch and, if necessary, correct myself/them to "Good afternoon".

 

[5jj]

Maybe I'm a bit more OCD than I thought - if I say (or someone else says) "Good morning" at a point when I'm not quite sure if we've hit noon yet, I'll check my watch and, if necessary, correct myself/them to "Good afternoon".

I'd delete the first word.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Thanks for your answer. Normally, when I get a call around 3 or 4 pm, they will say to me "good evening", but some person said that evening will start after dinner, then what about "night"

Evening goes from sunset to the early part of night. (You decide when "early" is.)

Where I live, sunset can be as early as 3:30. and as late as 7:30.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

That's true for the watch watchers. I suspect quite a few people are like me - the morning goes up to lunchtime, and the afternoon begins after lunch.

Actually, I include lunch in afternoon. Lunch is how you know it's not morning.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Thanks for your answer. Normally, when I get a call around 3 or 4 pm, they will say to me "good evening", but some person said that evening will start after dinner

Who are "they"? How far north do they live? Are they native English speakers?

If the sun has gone down where they're calling from, then "Good evening" is fine. If it's still daytime, it's wrong.

What about "night"?

Night is when it's completely dark.

Now you know!

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

PS - Correction:

Now that I've thought about it more, I realize I was wrong about one thing: Afternoon ends at 5:59 p.m., and evening begins at 6 p.m., even if the sun is still up.

 

[GoesStation]

Afternoon ends at 5:59 p.m., and evening begins at 6 p.m., even if the sun is still up.

I don't think many people use such precise delineations. I would not encourage learners to expect speakers to follow them.

 

[SoothingDave]

I agree generally with the 6 pm idea. In the summer when the sun sets at 9 pm, I would not refer to "8:30 in the afternoon."

On the other hand, it can be dark at 5 pm in the winter, but I would still consider 5:30 to be in the afternoon.

 

[Tarheel]

I think the 6pm thing is a rule of thumb for a lot if us. Having said that, I wouldn't expect to hear "Good evening" except in something like "Tales from the Crypt".

 

[GoesStation]

I often say "Good evening."

 

[jutfrank]

I wouldn't expect to hear "Good evening" except in something like "Tales from the Crypt".

Really? People don't say Good evening where you're from? :shock:

 

[Tarheel]

Not that much. (I don't get out much, and when I do I don't go to fancy places.)

 

[emsr2d2]

Not that much. (I don't get out much, and when I do I don't go to fancy places.)

We don't just use it in "fancy places"! If you went out for a little walk in the early evening, and bumped into a neighbour, would you not at least say "Evening!"? It's very common in the UK to drop the "Good" from greetings involving times of day, but we still use "Morning!", "Afternoon!" and "Evening!" as greetings multiple times a day.