Japanese kanji 黒: black, readings and words

The idea

黒 has 11 strokes. Follow the linked stroke-order diagram. 黒い is read くろい and means black (adjective); 黒 is read くろ and means black (colour). 黒板 is read こくばん: blackboard.

Examples

• この車くるまは黒くろいです。This car is black.
• あのかばんは黒くろくないです。That bag is not black.
• 黒くろい花はなが好すきです。I like black flowers.
• 黒くろいえんぴつを使つかいます。I use a black pencil.
• 私わたしのくつは黒くろです。My shoes are black.
• 黒くろい帽子ぼうしはどれですか。Which is the black hat?
• 教室きょうしつの黒板こくばんに字じを書かきます。I write characters on the classroom blackboard.

Watch out

Compare 黒 with 里; notice their different parts and strokes rather than guessing from the overall shape. 黒い is an i-adjective: keep the final い before a noun; 黒 is the colour noun. 黒板 is a separate word with its own meaning.

Try it yourself

1. Write the reading of 黒い in hiragana.

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   くろい

   黒い is read くろい; it means black (adjective). Remember the reading with the whole word.

2. Write the reading of 黒 in hiragana.

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   くろ

   黒 is read くろ; it means black (colour). Remember the reading with the whole word.

3. Write こくばん in kanji for “blackboard”.

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   黒板

   黒板 is written with 黒 and read こくばん; it means blackboard.

Use it today

Write 黒 three times using the linked stroke order. Cover the table, read 黒い and 黒, and make a sentence with one of them.