黄
黄 — Yellow
yellow
On’yomiコウ (kou)
On’yomiオウ (ou)
Kun’yomiき (ki)
Kun’yomiこ- (ko)
Stroke order (11 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 黄
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 黄金 | おうごん ougon | gold (Au); golden; prosperous |
| 硫黄 | いおう iou | sulfur (S); sulphur |
| 黄色 | きいろ kiiro | yellow; amber |
| 黄金時代 | おうごんじだい ougonjidai | golden age |
| 黄色い | きいろい kiiroi | yellow; high-pitched (voice); shrill |
| 黄昏 | たそがれ tasogare | dusk; twilight; twilight years |
Study notes
黄 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 11 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1240 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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