wee hours, evening, early night
宵 centers on the early part of the night: the evening hours just after sunset, including the wee hours before midnight.
宵 combines 宀 (roof) with 肖, which likely contributes the sound and carries a sense of smallness or resemblance. The character suggests the small hours under a roof, i.e., evening at home.
Under a roof 宀, the small 肖 hours of evening settle in. Picture a cozy room as night falls, marking the early night.
For ショウ, imagine a show starting in the early evening: show -> ショウ, and the curtain rises just as the wee hours begin.
this evening; tonight
evening; early night hours
dusk; twilight
(kept) overnight
nightfall; early evening
small festival on the eve of the main festival (esp. of the Gion festival)
one evening; one night
night of the 15th day of the first month in the lunar calendar
lantern festival, held on the night of the 15th day of the first month in the lunar calendar
midnight
the worst goes foremost; those one eagerly await will not arrive first
large-flowered evening primrose (Oenothera glazioviana)
night owl; nighthawk; late bird
evening star; Vesper; Hesperus; Venus in the evening sky
going to bed early
evening primrose
evening moon; moon that can only be seen in the early hours of the night (esp. from the 2nd to the 7th of the eight month)
moonlit evening
small festival held the night before the main festival; eve of a festival
goods loaded in the afternoon for delivery the following morning