# 黒 — Black

Frequency rank 470 / 2,608 in published Japanese.

Frequent enough that you will keep running into it once you read past headlines.

More common than 抜 (Pull Out), less common than 研 (Sharpen).

- On’yomi: こく
- Kun’yomi: くろ
- Radical: 黒 Black (Kangxi 203)
- Frequency path: Level IV of XX

The character 黒 (black) has a complex structure suggesting soot and darkness — the strokes pile up like layers of charcoal and ash, pure black.

In words:

- 黒 くろ — black
- 黒い くろい — black
- 黒板 こくばん — blackboard

[Study 黒](https://app.kanjidrift.com/study?kanji=%E9%BB%92)

[← Rank 469: 研 (Sharpen)](https://kanjidrift.com/frequency/研.md) · [Rank 471: 抜 (Pull Out) →](https://kanjidrift.com/frequency/抜.md)

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