黒
黒 — Black
black
On’yomiコク (koku)
Kun’yomiくろ (kuro)
Kun’yomiくろずむ (kurozumu)
Kun’yomiくろい (kuroi)
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 黒
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 黒字 | くろじ kuroji | (being in) the black; surplus; black letter |
| 黒 | くろ kuro | black; black stone; guilt |
| 黒人 | こくじん kokujin | black person; woman in the nightlife business; demimondaine |
| 黒海 | こっかい kokkai | Black Sea |
| 黒星 | くろぼし kuroboshi | black spot; black dot; bull's-eye |
| 黒木 | くろき kuroki | unbarked lumber |
Study notes
黒 is a JLPT N4 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 #573 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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