褐
brown, woollen kimono
Readings
On'yomi
- カツ
Kun'yomi
—
Meaning
褐 centers on a coarse brown color, originally from undyed wool. The meaning extends naturally to a brown woolen kimono, which is a specific garment made from that material.
Most common words using 褐
20 of 35- 褐色かっしょく
dark brown; colour of tanned skin
- 赤褐色せっかっしょく
reddish brown; rufous
- 茶褐色ちゃかっしょく
dark reddish-brown; liver color
- 黒褐色こっかっしょく
blackish brown
- 褐藻かっそう
brown algae; phaeophyceae
- 暗褐色あんかっしょく
dark brown
- 淡褐色たんかっしょく
light brown
- 濃褐色のうかっしょく
dark brown
- 灰褐色はいかっしょく
grey-brown; gray-brown; dun
- 紅褐色こうかっしょく
brownish-red
- 茶褐薬ちゃかつやく
trinitrotoluene; TNT
- 褐かち
dark indigo (almost black)
- 褐を釈くかつをとく
to enter government service; to become an official; to don an official uniform; to remove commoners' clothing
- 褐マンガン鉱かつマンガンこう
braunite
- 褐変かっぺん
browning
- 褐変反応かっぺんはんのう
browning reaction
- 褐斑病かっぱんびょう
brown spot (disease)
- 褐毛和種あかげわしゅ
Japanese Brown (cattle breed)
- 褐炭かったん
brown coal; lignite
- 褐簾石かつれんせき
allanite
Study
Etymology
褐 combines 衤 (clothing) with 曷, which likely contributes the sound and may relate to coarse or rough material. The character originally referred to coarse woolen cloth or garments, and by extension the brown color of undyed wool.
Meaning mnemonic
The left side 衤 is clothing, and the right side 曷 looks like a person under a sunshade wearing a rough brown robe. Picture a monk in a simple brown woolen kimono.
Reading mnemonic
For カツ, imagine a brown woolen kimono that is so coarse it feels like a cat's tongue: cat -> カツ, and the rough brown fabric matches the kanji's meaning.