What is the Kanji for "Black"?

If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for "Black", you've come to the right place!

The Japanese Kanji for "Black" is "黒".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Kuro".

Its onyomi reading is "Koku".

kunyomi readings are based on the pronunciation of native Japanese words, and onyomi readings are based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character.

If you visually breakdown this kanji, you can see is made up of 2 parts:

The radical "灬" means "Fire" . And The kanji "里" means "Hometown" and can be read as "Ri" and "Sato".

Now, let's make sure you understand this kanji the other way around too.

What does the kanji "黒" mean in japanese?

"黒" means "Black".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Second Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N4 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

真っ黒: "Jet-black". The adjectival noun '真っ黒 (まっくろ)' means 'jet-black'. This term describes something that is the darkest, deepest shade of black, without any hint of color. It is often used to describe the color of objects, animals or even a person's hair or skin. For example: His hair is jet-black - (彼の髪は真っ黒だ). The night sky was jet-black - (夜空は真っ黒だった).

黒: "Black". The noun '黒 (くろ)' means 'black'. This word refers to the darkest color, the absence of light. It can be used to describe the color of objects, hair, skin, or other things. For example: The cat's fur is black - (あの猫の毛は黒い). He wears a black suit - (彼は黒い suit を着ている).

黒い: "Black". The Japanese adjective '黒い (くろい)' means 'black'. This adjective is used to describe something that is dark in color, like the night sky or a person's hair. It can also be used to describe more abstract concepts, like a 'black mood'. For example: She has black hair - (彼女の髪は黒い). The night is black - (夜は黒い).

黒板: "Blackboard". The Japanese noun '黒板 (こくばん)' refers to a large surface, typically made of dark material like slate or painted wood, that is used in classrooms or offices for writing and displaying information. It is usually green or black in color. The '黒板' is an essential piece of equipment in educational settings, as teachers and lecturers use it to write down notes, diagrams, or instructions for students. For example: The teacher wrote the math problem on the blackboard - (先生は黒板に数学の問題を書いた).

黒字: "Surplus" or "Profit". The noun '黒字 (くろじ)' refers to a financial surplus or profit. It is used to describe a situation where a company, organization, or individual has more income than expenses, resulting in a positive balance. This term is often contrasted with '赤字 (あかじ)', which means a deficit or loss. Examples: The company reported a ¥10 million surplus this quarter - (この四半期、会社は1000万円の黒字を報告した). They achieved a healthy profit - (彼らは健全な黒字を達成した).

黒人: "Black person". The noun '黒人 (こくじん)' refers to a person with dark skin, typically of African descent. It is a general term used to describe this ethnic group. However, the term has become somewhat sensitive in recent times and may be seen as derogatory by some. More neutral terms such as 'African-descent person' or 'person of color' are preferred in many contexts. Example: There were many black people at the concert - (コンサートには多くの黒人がいた).

To make really sure you learn this Kanji, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this kanji.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "こ" is read as "ko". The hiragana "く" is read as "ku". And The hiragana "ろ" is read as "ro".

Heres a quick tutorial on how to use it. You'll be asked three type of questions: meaning, reading, and writing.

For meanings questions all you have to do is type the english meaning. If there is more than one meaning, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Reading questions you have to type the reading in romaji (roman letters, our normal alphabet) and it'll be automatically converted to hiragana if necessary. If there is more than one reading, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Writing questions some options will appear and all you have to do is select the correct ones.