На закате небо красивее, чем днём.

На закате means at sunset / during sunset here, and закате is in the prepositional case.

The noun is закат (sunset). After на, Russian can use different cases depending on meaning:

• на + accusative = motion onto something
• на + prepositional = location or time in certain expressions

In this sentence, на закате is a fixed time expression meaning at sunset, so it uses the prepositional:

• закат → на закате

This is similar to other time expressions like:

• на рассвете = at dawn
• на заре = at daybreak

Днём is the instrumental singular of день (day), and in Russian this form is often used adverbially to mean during the day / in the daytime.

So:

• день = day
• днём = by day / during the day / in the daytime

This is very common with parts of the day:

• утром = in the morning
• днём = in the daytime
• вечером = in the evening
• ночью = at night

So in this sentence, чем днём means than during the day.

Russian often omits the present-tense form of to be.

So where English says:

• The sky is more beautiful...

Russian simply says:

• небо красивее...

There is no separate word for is in the present tense. This is completely normal and standard.

So the structure is basically:

• небо красивее = the sky is more beautiful

Yes. Красивее is the comparative form of красивый (beautiful).

Basic pattern:

• красивый = beautiful
• красивее = more beautiful

Russian often forms comparatives with endings like:

• -ее
• -ей
• sometimes irregular patterns

A few examples:

• быстрый → быстрее = faster
• интересный → интереснее = more interesting
• красивый → красивее = more beautiful

Unlike a full adjective, красивее does not change for gender, number, or case in this use.

Yes. In comparisons, чем means than.

So:

• красивее, чем днём = more beautiful than in the daytime

This is the standard way to make comparisons in Russian:

• Он выше, чем я. = He is taller than me.
• Сегодня теплее, чем вчера. = Today is warmer than yesterday.

So in your sentence, чем introduces the second part of the comparison.

Because in Russian, чем in comparative constructions is typically preceded by a comma.

So:

• На закате небо красивее, чем днём.

This is standard punctuation. Even though English often does not require a comma before than, Russian normally does before чем in this kind of sentence.

Небо is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case.

The dictionary form is:

• небо = sky

It is a neuter singular noun. You can tell it is the subject because the sentence is saying something about the sky:

• небо красивее = the sky is more beautiful

So небо is nominative singular neuter.

That is a very common question. The short answer is: comparative forms like красивее do not agree the way normal adjectives do.

Compare:

• красивое небо = beautiful sky
  Here красивое agrees with небо in gender, number, and case.

But:

• небо красивее = the sky is more beautiful
  Here красивее is a comparative form and stays the same.

So even though небо is neuter, you still say:

• небо красивее
• not some special neuter comparative form

Yes. Russian word order is fairly flexible, although different orders can sound more neutral, more emphatic, or more poetic.

The given sentence:

• На закате небо красивее, чем днём.

is natural and neutral.

You could also hear:

• Небо на закате красивее, чем днём.
• Красивее небо на закате, чем днём.
  This sounds more marked or poetic.

The original version puts на закате first, which nicely sets the scene: at sunset...

They are close in meaning, but на закате is more natural and idiomatic here.

• на закате = at sunset / at sundown
• во время заката = during the sunset

Во время заката is grammatically fine, but it sounds more explicit and a little heavier. На закате is shorter, smoother, and very common in descriptive language.

So for a sentence about how the sky looks, на закате is the more natural choice.

A natural pronunciation is:

• На закАте нЕбо красИвее, чем днЁм.

Stress marks:

• закАт
• нЕбо
• красИвее
• днЁм

A couple of useful notes:

• ё in днём always carries stress
• красивее is commonly pronounced with stress on И: красИвее

You could, but it would sound less natural here.

Russian has two ways to express comparison:

1. Simple comparative

   • красивее = more beautiful

2. Analytical comparative

   • более красивый / более красивое = more beautiful

In this sentence, the simple comparative is much more natural:

• На закате небо красивее, чем днём.

A version with более красивое would sound heavier and less idiomatic in everyday speech.

It can be both.

Literally:

• на закате = at sunset

Figuratively, Russian can also use на закате to mean in the decline / toward the end of something, especially in literary or formal language:

• на закате жизни = in the twilight of life

But in your sentence, it is clearly literal: it refers to the time of day when the sky looks especially beautiful.