Dawn
Daybreak, Beginning
noun
We have night and the noun version of "to dawn" (明ける). What comes when the night ends and a new day dawns? The dawn, of course.
夜明け refers to dawn or daybreak in the literal sense, but it can also be used metaphorically to mean the beginning of something new, as in 時代の夜明け (the dawn of an era).
This word uses the kun'yomi readings of the kanji. You know 明け because it uses the same reading as 明ける, but 夜 is a little weird because よる gets shortened to よ. Here's a mnemonic to help you remember this change:
What are you doing when dawn comes each morning? Playing with your yo-yo (よ), obviously. You want to be the best yo-yoer there's ever been, so you're up with the dawn every morning, practicing your yo-yo skills while the competition sleeps.
Note that in the related phrase 夜が明ける, 夜 is also often read as よ.
今日の夜明けの空はピンクでした。
The sky at dawn today was pink.
今はつらいけど、いつか夜明けが来るよ。
Things are tough right now, but a new dawn will come.
私の両親は、インターネット時代の夜明けを経験した世代です。
My parents are the generation that experienced the dawn of the internet age.