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Kotomora

黒

black

JLPTN4StatusJōyō · grade 2FrequencyTop 1,000Strokes11

Readings

On'yomi

  • コク

Kun'yomi

  • くろ
  • くろ.ずむ
  • くろ.い

Meaning

黒 centers on the color black and things that are dark or blackened.

Most common words using 黒

24 of 403
  • 黒くろ
    N5

    black

  • 黒いくろい
    N5

    black

  • 黒人こくじん
    N1

    black person

  • 暗黒あんこく

    darkness

  • 目黒めぐろ

    Meguro City (special ward of Tokyo)

  • 白黒しろくろ

    black and white; monochrome

  • 黒幕くろまく

    black curtain

  • 真っ黒まっくろ
    N3

    pitch black

  • 黒木くろき

    unbarked lumber

  • 黒字くろじ
    N2

    (being in) the black; surplus

  • 黒板こくばん
    N3

    blackboard

  • 黒色くろいろ

    black (colour, color)

  • 漆黒しっこく

    jet-black; pitch-dark; raven-black; stygian

  • 黒星くろぼし

    black spot; black dot; bull's-eye

  • 黒潮くろしお

    Kuroshio Current; Japan Current

  • 黒海こっかい

    Black Sea

  • 黒っぽいくろっぽい

    dark; blackish

  • 黒白くろしろ

    black and white; right and wrong

  • 大黒柱だいこくばしら

    central pillar (of a building)

  • 黒衣こくい

    black clothes

  • 黒鉛こくえん

    graphite

  • 浅黒いあさぐろい

    dark (skin, complexion, etc.); swarthy; tanned

  • 黒煙こくえん

    black smoke

  • 黒い霧くろいきり

    thick fog (of suspicion); black veil of secrecy; covered-up crime, unethical act, etc.

Explore all words using 黒 →

Study

Etymology

黒 is a pictograph of a person with a tattooed or blackened face, later stylized into the modern form with 田, 土, and 灬.

Meaning mnemonic

The top 田 looks like a soot-covered window, the middle 土 is dark earth, and the bottom 灬 is a fire's ashes. Together they make black.

Reading mnemonic

For コク, imagine a black cock (rooster) covered in soot: cock -> コク, and its feathers are pitch black.