色
色 — Color
color
On’yomiショク (shoku)
On’yomiシキ (shiki)
Kun’yomiいろ (iro)
Stroke order (6 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 色
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 色 | いろ iro | colour; color; hue |
| 色彩 | しきさい shikisai | colour; color; hue |
| 特色 | とくしょく tokushoku | characteristic; (distinctive) feature; peculiarity |
| 難色 | なんしょく nanshoku | disapproval; reluctance; unwillingness |
| 黄色 | きいろ kiiro | yellow; amber |
| 異色 | いしょく ishoku | unique; distinctive; novel |
Study notes
色 is a JLPT N4 kanji written with 6 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #621 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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