also: こうど
Only with reading おうど
Geological term for wind-blown silt sediment. Used in scientific and geographical contexts.
yellow ochre; yellow ocher
Only with reading おうど
A natural earth pigment. Used in art, painting, and sometimes in traditional contexts.
Yellow ochre is used in this mural.
Only with reading こうど
Archaic Buddhist term for the realm of the dead. Only used with the reading こうど. Not used in modern Japanese outside of historical or religious texts.
The Loess Plateau in China is known for its thick loess deposits.
In classical texts, 黄土 is read as こうど and can refer to the underworld.
Standard kanji spelling for the common reading おうど. Used for loess and yellow ochre.
Archaic reading used only for the underworld sense. Not used in modern Japanese for loess or ochre.
The kanji 黄 (yellow) and 土 (earth) directly describe the color and material. The reading おうど is the standard Sino-Japanese reading. The archaic reading こうど for the underworld sense is a specialized Buddhist term; its exact derivation is uncertain.