: Re: How to better describe "jet-black (pitch-black) darkness"? I'm trying my hand at translating a few Korean literary texts into English. Something I come across often while translating is the phrasing

@Hamaas631

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Instead of a looking for a single expression, consider the cases individually. If you can show us that it's black (pitch- or otherwise), you won't need to tell us. Consider:

Pine resin cloaked the dense forest in darkness...
I also recalled one moonless1 night

Sometimes you really do just need an adjective, such as "pitch-black eyes". That's fine. Your goal isn't to completely avoid the expression, but rather to not over-use it.
I might take a broader approach with your last example. It sounds like you are describing something supernatural, a creeping darkness that's overwhelming the world (or some such). If that's the case, you can talk about it like that; this is well beyond moonless or pitch-black nights and is something more ominous. Bring that out. You can talk about the darkness overwhelming the world (leaving, implied, that it would have to be pretty dark to do that), or talk about the vast darkness.
1 Or starless, as pointed out by Paul A. Clayton in a comment.

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