Taxonomy of meanings for 晚:　　

  • 晚 wǎn (OC: monʔ MC: mʷiɐn) 無遠切 上 廣韻：【暮也無逺切七 】
    • EVENING
      • ndusk[??Could that not also be interpreted as vi; see examples below][CA]
      • nadNevening-
      • nadVin the eventing
      • generalised>LATE
        • nabactacting too late
        • vadNlatter, closer to the present, close to the present; later
        • vadVnegativetoo late (to be of any purpose)
        • vadVafter a very long time; late in the day, later rather than earlier
        • vibe late in the day
        • vigradedbe too late; be late; [ > be overdue]
        • later generation>STUDENT
          • n(later-born) disciple
          • grammaticalised: self-effacing>EGO
          • by extension>NIGHT
            • of period>LAST
              • age>OLD

            Additional information about 晚

            說文解字: 【晚】，莫也。 〔小徐本作「暮也。」〕 从日、免聲。 【無遠切】

              Criteria
            • EARLY

              1. The current word for early, referring both to periods in one's life and time in the year or the day, is zǎo 早 (ant. wǎn 晚 "late"), but the word often specifically means "too early".

              2. Sù 夙 (ant. chí 遲 "late, too late") refers specifically to the early period in one's life.

              3. Xiān 先 is relative and refers to the period earlier than something else.

              4. Yù 豫／預 refers to a point in time suitably early, earlier than necessary, or earlier than expected.

              5. Yāo 夭 refers specifically to prematureness of death.

            • LATE

              1. The current general word for lateness is hòu 後 (ant. xiān 先 "earlier"), and this word refers to anything that comes later in time than something else.

              2. Yàn 晏 (ant. zǎo 早 "early") refers to a time later that what is acceptable.

              3. Wǎn 晚 (ant. zǎo 早 "early") can refer a point in time much later than presupposed, or a time much later than the previous event.

              4. Chí 遲 (ant. zǎo 早 "early") refers to a failure to make the speed required of one.

            • EVENING

              1. The current general word for the evening is xì 夕 (ant. zhāo 朝 "morning"), and the term refers to the period when the sun is declining and including the time when the sun has just gone down.

              2. Huì 晦 (ant. míng 明 "full morning, morning immediately after daybreak") and mù 暮 (ant. dàn 旦 "morning") refer to time when it is beginning to get dark. The focus is on reduced light conditions.

              3. Wǎn 晚 can refer to the evening from Han times onwards.

            • MORNING

              1. The current general word for the morning is zhāo 朝 (ant. xì 夕 "evening") 。

              2. Sù 夙 (ant. yè 夜 "night") refers generically to the early morning and is almost still a part of the night, yè 夜, since it is a time where the moon is still out. It never refers specifically to the morning of a given day.

              3. Mèi shuǎng 昧爽 (ant. huáng hūn 黃昏 "dusk, or the time just after dusk") refers specifically to the time of dawn or just before dawn.

              4. Píng míng 平明 refers exactly to the point of daybreak.

              5. Chén 晨 (hūn 昏 "dusk") refers to the period after sunrise but before the late morning, and occasionally the word does also include the time just before sunrise.

              6. Dàn 旦 (ant. xì 夕 "in the evening") refers to the morning right until sunrise, when it is already quite bright and the moon is no longer visible, thus reaching somewhat more into the day than sù 夙 and zǎo 早.

              7. Xiǎo 曉 (ant. xiāo 宵 "evening") is exceedingly rare in pre-Buddhist texts and refers to the part of the morning where the sun is already shining.

              8. Míng 明 (ant. míng 冥 "darkness, the dark" mù 暮 "dusk") refers to the early morning in OBI.

              9. Zǎo 早 (ant. wǎn 晚 "late") is often used to refer in a somewhat diffuse way to the very early morning as the time preceding ordinary activities.

              DK: See Tunnan 42 for an important inscription on times of day. CH: SHIJI 55, beginning, has a nice sequence on timewords referring to parts of the day.