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I'm a beginner here, and I have a question about the evening/night meal, and this is my first question.

It's evening. The family is eating dinner.

  1. From when until when is it considered to be "evening" in English? And from when until when is it considered "night"? Are these completely distinct or are they overlapping concepts?
  2. I’m an Iranian. In Iran, we consider "evening" to run all the way from afternoon until sunset (4 pm – 8 pm), while "night" for us runs from right after sunset until the next sunrise; and we eat "dinner" at night, normally around 10 o’clock at night.

So, does one eat another meal after "dinner"? It seems to me that "dinner" is an evening meal and people eat it very soon, so it should be not the meal that people eat late at night, as we do in Iran.

tchrist
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Qàtrè
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    Those who eat their dinner earlier, say at 6-8pm might eat a light supper later on. Colloquially, some in the UK refer to their mid-day meal as "dinner" and the evening meal as "supper". – Weather Vane Apr 26 '20 at 16:46
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    Most people in America do not eat another meal after dinner regardless of whether they eat dinner at 5:00pm or 6:30pm or 8pm. If they get hungry again before bed they might have a snack before bed. And some people might get up out of bed to have a late-night snack. But there’s typically only one “meal” after lunch. – Jim Apr 26 '20 at 16:52
  • Those who have a midday 'dinner' in the UK will probably have a later and perhaps more substantial 'tea' than others, and possibly a late supper. – Edwin Ashworth Apr 26 '20 at 16:52
  • @Jim the "supper" I mentioned after the dinner is more likely a snack, not a formal meal. – Weather Vane Apr 26 '20 at 16:53
  • Confused by the {/many} British having dinner around noon and tea in the early evening may also help. – Edwin Ashworth Apr 26 '20 at 16:55
  • There is also the late afternoon meal called "tea" which is a light meal, or "high tea" which is more substantial, but few will eat breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner and supper :) – Weather Vane Apr 26 '20 at 16:55
  • In some rural areas of the US, "dinner" was traditionally eaten at midday, as a break from the labors of farming. – Hot Licks Apr 26 '20 at 16:59
  • Thank you Mr./Ms. @WeatherVane. So, can one say that people eat dinner around 8 pm and then eat supper some hours later, maybe around 10:30 pm? – Qàtrè Apr 26 '20 at 17:14
  • Thank you Mr. @EdwinAshworth. I read it, and it somewhat helped me, but based on the answers I guess there is not any specific rule about the times. Maybe I'm wrong. – Qàtrè Apr 26 '20 at 17:15
  • There's a blend 'brunch' made up of 'breakfast' and 'lunch'. Brunch refers the meal between breakfast and lunch. For meal before breakfast and after dinner, you could say brinner — a blend of breakfast and dinner but don't expect all your listeners to understand what you mean by brinner. (I've just made it up). – Decapitated Soul Apr 26 '20 at 17:18
  • Thank you very much, Mr. @Jim. Your answer gives me a more clear view. So, I can say that people in Iran and the US eat the evening and night meals somehow the same. – Qàtrè Apr 26 '20 at 17:18
  • Thanks again, Mr. @EdwinAshworth. I understood that people in the UK call the midday meal 'dinner', but what do they call 'lunch'? – Qàtrè Apr 26 '20 at 17:20
  • Ah, well. I googled 'brinner' and it's already in use. Macmillan dictionary defines it differently. – Decapitated Soul Apr 26 '20 at 17:20
  • @Qàtrè, Lunch is called lunch. – Decapitated Soul Apr 26 '20 at 17:21
  • Oh, wow! Mr. @EdwinAshworth, I can say that 'tea' is somehow like our evening meals in Iran. We eat often a light snack, maybe with coffee or tea, around 5 pm, which is after our lunch (midday meal) and dinner (late night meal). – Qàtrè Apr 26 '20 at 17:22
  • Oh, wow! Mr./Ms. @WeatherVane, I can say that 'tea' is somehow like our evening meals in Iran. We eat often a light snack, maybe with coffee or tea, around 5 pm, which is after our lunch (midday meal) and dinner (late night meal). – Qàtrè Apr 26 '20 at 17:25
  • Thank you, Mr./Ms. @HotLicks, but what about lunch? – Qàtrè Apr 26 '20 at 17:26
  • That's really interesting, Mr./Ms. @DecapitatedSoul! We don't have any meals similar to brinner in Iran. But, that would be very good for a person who goes to bed very late. Thank you. – Qàtrè Apr 26 '20 at 17:29
  • Thank you all for your answers. I'm sorry that I cannot like your answers because I don't have enough scores yet. – Qàtrè Apr 26 '20 at 17:30
  • @Qàtrè - In that context "lunch" is a quick meal, while "dinner" is a longer more elaborate affair. – Hot Licks Apr 26 '20 at 17:33
  • OK, now I understand its meaning. Thank you Mr./Ms. @HotLicks again. – Qàtrè Apr 26 '20 at 17:46
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    It's difficult to cram it all in to one day : breakfast, elevenses, brunch, snack, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, supper and nightcap. – Nigel J Apr 26 '20 at 19:43
  • @Nigel What on earth happened to second breakfast? Are you trying to starve a poor hobbit to death? – tchrist Apr 27 '20 at 00:27
  • @NigelJ - You guys left out "lupper"! – Hot Licks Apr 27 '20 at 00:32
  • Some people in the UK call the midday meal 'dinner' and the evening meal 'tea'. Others call the midday meal 'lunch' and the evening meal 'dinner'. Check out the links you have been given to other questions about names of meals. – Kate Bunting Apr 27 '20 at 08:06
  • @NigelJ Yes :-)) – Qàtrè Apr 27 '20 at 18:21
  • @tchrist Of all the meals, I love the first and second breakfasts more than others :-)) – Qàtrè Apr 27 '20 at 18:23
  • Thank you Ms. @KateBunting. Yes, now I know what are they and what are their names. – Qàtrè Apr 27 '20 at 18:24

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