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Kotomora

赤

red

JLPTN4StatusJōyō · grade 1FrequencyTop 1,000Strokes7

Readings

On'yomi

  • セキ
  • シャク

Kun'yomi

  • あか
  • あか-
  • あか.い
  • あか.らむ
  • あか.らめる

Nanori

  • あ
  • あこ
  • あま

Meaning

赤 centers on the color red, including its associated qualities like brightness or being vivid. It is the basic term for red in Japanese.

Most common words using 赤

20 of 427
  • 赤あか
    N5

    red; crimson; scarlet

  • 赤いあかい
    N5

    red; crimson; scarlet; vermilion

  • 赤ちゃんあかちゃん
    N4

    baby; infant

  • 赤字あかじ
    N2

    (being in) the red; deficit

  • 真っ赤まっか
    N3

    bright red; deep red; flushed (of face)

  • 赤色あかいろ

    red; red color

  • 赤ん坊あかんぼう
    N4

    baby; infant

  • 赤外線せきがいせん

    infrared rays; infrared radiation

  • 赤旗あかはた

    red flag

  • 赤ワインあかワイン

    red wine

  • 赤松あかまつ

    Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora); Japanese umbrella pine; tanyosho pine

  • 赤子あかご

    baby; infant

  • 赤毛あかげ

    red hair; ginger hair

  • 赤面せきめん
    N1

    blushing; getting red in the face

  • 赤十字せきじゅうじ

    Red Cross

  • 赤道せきどう
    N3

    equator

  • 赤信号あかしんごう

    red light (traffic)

  • 赤身あかみ

    red flesh (of a fish); red-fleshed fish (e.g. tuna); lean meat

  • 赤軍せきぐん

    Red Army (Soviet Union, 1918-1946); Workers' and Peasants' Red Army

  • 赤ずきんあかずきん

    Little Red Riding Hood

Explore all words using 赤 →

Study

Etymology

赤 is a pictograph of a person over a fire, originally representing the color of fire or something burning red. The modern form retains the general shape, with 土 (earth) at the bottom and a stylized top.

Meaning mnemonic

The top part looks like a person, and the bottom is 土 (earth). Imagine a person standing over a fire pit in the earth, glowing red from the flames.

Reading mnemonic

For セキ, picture a red second hand on a clock ticking: 'seck' -> セキ, and the red hand marks the seconds.