Q: What is a common mistake Japanese students tend to make?
A: Sometimes a common error is based on the fact that two words or phrases sound alike. For example, many students make sentences like this:
I woke up at the midnight.
What this person means is “I woke up in the middle of the night”
Midnight, like noon, is a specific time. Midnight is 12am. Noon is 12pm. So if you want to talk about some late hour, but not a specific hour, “In the middle of the night” is what you want to say.
(和訳)
音が似ている２つの単語は間違えやすいわね。例えば生徒がよくこんな文を作るわ。
I woke up at the midnight.
この人が意図している内容は、“I woke up in the middle of the night”（私は夜中に目が覚めた。）なの。
midnightとは、noon（正午）のような特定の時間なの。midnightは深夜12時、noonはお昼の12時のことよ。深夜の事を話したいけど、具体的な時刻がない場合は、In the middle of the nightがあなたの言いたい内容よ。
