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Kotomora

黑

black, dark, evil, sinister

StatusJinmeiyō (variant)Strokes12

Readings

On'yomi

  • コク

Kun'yomi

  • くろい
  • くろ

Meaning

黑 centers on the color black and the qualities associated with it: darkness, lack of light, and by extension evil or sinister things.

Study

Etymology

黑 is a pictograph of a person with a tattooed or painted face, representing the color black or darkness. The modern form retains the general shape with the four dots at the bottom suggesting fire or soot.

Meaning mnemonic

The top part looks like a dark container, and the four dots at the bottom are like drops of black ink or soot. Together they make 黑, the color black.

Reading mnemonic

For コク, imagine a black crow cawing 'koku, koku' as it flies through the dark sky: koku -> コク.