Japanese word

黒い

Pronunciation

Romajikuroi

Meaning

  • i-adjectiveblack

Example

このかばんは黒いです。ko no ka ba n wa kuro i de su

This bag is black.

Illustration for 黒い (black)

More examples

このねこは黒いです。ko no ne ko wa kuro i de su

This cat is black.

夜になると、海の色が黒くなります。yoru ni na ru to umi no iro ga kuro ku na ri ma su

When night comes, the color of the sea turns black.

Core concept

Describes the darkest common color, or something that appears to have almost no visible brightness.

Common phrases

  • 黒い車kuro i kuruma

    black car

  • 黒い猫kuro i neko

    black cat

  • 黒い文字kuro i moji

    black letters

Similar words

暗いkurai: Describes a place or thing with little light, or a color with low brightness.
黒っぽいkuroppoi: Describes a color that has a noticeable black quality without being fully black.
真っ黒いmakkuroi: Describes a color that is completely black or appears to have almost no visible brightness.

Definition in Japanese

物の色が光をほとんど反射しない黒であるさま。mono no iro ga hikari o ho to n do han sha shi na i kuro de a ru sa ma

Word origin

The native adjective 黒い (kuroi, "black") is formed from 黒 (kuro, "black") and the adjective ending い (i).

Usage tips

  • Japanese distinguishes 黒い (kuroi, "black") from 暗い (kurai, "dark"), so a dark room is normally described with 暗い rather than 黒い.

Other meanings

  • darki-adjective

Opposites

Related words

  • 黒さkurosablacknessnoun
  • 黒みkuromiblacknessnoun

Word lists with this word