Darkness in Chinese / Japanese...

暗黒 is the two-character Japanese word for darkness.

The first Kanji can mean unilluminated, dark, gloomy, hidden, secret.
The second character means black or dark.

Together, these two Kanji will be understood as dark or darkness.

黑闇 is the two-character Chinese word for darkness.

The first character alone means black or dark.

The second character has several possible meanings, depending on context; They include: to shut the door, unilluminated, dark, gloomy, hidden, secret.

Together, these two characters will, in most cases, simply be translated as "dark" or "darkness".

闇 is the shortest and universal way (in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja) to write "darkness".

In Chinese this can mean: dark, gloomy, hidden, secret, to shut the door, unilluminated.

In Japanese this can mean: darkness, the dark, black-marketeering, dark, shady, illegal.

In old Korean Hanja this can mean: dark, obscure, hidden, secret.

Note that there is an alternate form of this character. It is used as an alternate in all three languages (that rarely happens). You can see this alternate version to the right. If you want to order that version, please click on that character, instead of the button above.

黎明前的黑暗 is the most natural way to write, "The night is darkest before the dawn", in Chinese.

The words break down this way by meaning this way:
1.黎明 dawn / daybreak
2.前 before / in front / ago / former / previous / earlier / front
3.的 (possessive particle) / of
4.黑暗 dark / darkly / darkness

If you try to understand the Chinese word order and grammar, it's like, "Before dawn, is the darkest [time]".

This literally translates as: Without having experienced the cold of winter, one cannot appreciate the warmth of spring.

Figuratively, this means: One cannot truly appreciate happiness without having gone through hardship.

There are many contrasts in life. One simply cannot fully know what joy is without having experienced misery, difficulty, and pain. How could you explain "light" if you did not have "darkness" to compare it to?

Embrace hardship, as it makes the good times seem even better.

This Chinese proverb literally means: [If one not does] not make comparisons, [one will] not know [the truth] when [one] compares, [one will be] greatly surprised.

This goes to the idea that if you do not know bad times, you cannot know what good times are.
...And...
You can not know light without experiencing darkness.

Another way to translate this would be: If you wish to be enlightened, you need to make comparisons and analyze every aspect (of a situation, issue or problem).