A dark shape created when light is blocked; a shadow or silhouette of a person or object.
木の影で本を読みながら休んだ。
I rested reading a book in the shade of a tree.
夕方、長い影が道に伸びている。
In the evening, long shadows stretch across the road.
彼女のシルエットだけが壁に影として映った。
Only her silhouette was reflected as a shadow on the wall.
An image or reflection seen in a mirror, water surface, or glass.
静かな池に自分の影がゆらりと映った。
My reflection shimmered in the still pond.
夜、窓ガラスに街灯の影が映って見えた。
At night, the streetlight's reflection appeared on the window glass.
An ominous sign or an unfavorable omen; a sense that something bad may happen (figurative/literary).
町に不穏な影が差しているようだ。
It feels as if an uneasy shadow has fallen over the town.
あの一件は、会社に暗い影を落とした。
That incident cast a dark shadow over the company.
Poetic or archaic use referring to the light of the moon or stars.
夜、庭は月の影にやわらかく照らされていた。
At night the garden was softly lit by the moonlight.
A trace or remnant — the lingering sign of a former state or condition (e.g., the shadow of past glory).
古い劇場にはかつての栄光の影が残っている。
The old theater still bears traces of its former glory.
あの町並みには昔の面影の影しか残っていない。
Only traces of the old appearance remain in that townscape.
Used to mean the background, the other side, or what is behind something. Usually written 陰 rather than 影 (nonstandard spelling).
彼は表に出ないで、組織のかげで仕事をしている。
He doesn't appear in public; he works behind the scenes in the organization.
事件のかげにもっと大きな力が働いているらしい。
It seems a greater force is at work behind the incident.