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真っ黒 (まっくろ, makkuro) Japanese meaning: pitch black | Kotomora
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The ceiling became pitch black from the smoke.
The child's hands were completely black with mud.
Pitch-black clouds are spreading across the sky.
Usage patterns 〈 物もの 〉 が 真ま っ 黒くろ になる for something to become pitch black
The wall turned pitch black because of the smoke.
真ま っ 黒くろ に 焼や ける to get tanned/burnt very dark (from the sun)
I got really tanned at the beach during summer vacation.
〈 物もの 〉 を 真ま っ 黒くろ に 塗ぬ る to paint/color something pitch black
The child painted the drawing paper completely black.
Kanji 真 true, reality, Buddhist sect Related words 黒い is the plain adjective for 'black', while 真っ黒 emphasizes total or intense blackness, like something completely covered in black.
黒々 describes a vivid, often glossy or lush blackness (like dark hair or thick clouds), while 真っ黒 simply stresses that something is entirely black.
真っ黒 is the common, everyday word for 'completely black', while 漆黒 is a formal, literary term implying a deep, glossy blackness.
Written forms 真ま っ 黒くろ Usage 71%
Standard common spelling; the small っ clearly represents the pronunciation まっくろ.
まっ 黒くろ Usage 16%
Mixed kana-kanji spelling also given; understandable and sometimes seen, but less standard than 真っ黒.
真まっ 黒くろ Usage 8%
Attested spelling without the small っ; less learner-friendly because the pronunciation まっくろ is not shown explicitly.
まっくろ Usage 5%
Etymology Formed from the intensifying prefix-like 真っ, related to 真 meaning 'true' or 'complete,' plus 黒 'black.' The spelling conventionally expresses 'completely black.'
マックロ
Usage <1%