黑 meaning and stroke order
Black; dark; sinister
How to write 黑, stroke by stroke
12 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
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- 7
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- 12
Meaning of 黑
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- black
- dark
- sinister
- secret
- shady
- illegal
How 黑 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A man's face blacked by soot from a fire 灬.
How to remember 黑
The four dots 灬 at the bottom are fire. Picture a face above that fire, blackened by soot, and you have 黑 (hēi), black.
黑 is the everyday word for black and dark, and it also means shady or illegal, as in 黑车 for an unlicensed taxi. It appears in many common words like 黑色 (hēisè), 黑板 (hēibǎn) and 黑客 (hēikè). Example: 天黑了。(Tiān hēi le.) It's getting dark.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 黑 with 墨 (mò, ink), which is 黑 with 土 underneath. Also remember 黑 is first tone, hēi, not hěi.
Common words with 黑
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 黑色 | hēisè | black | HSK 2 |
| 黑板 | hēibǎn | blackboard | HSK 2 |
| 黑暗 | hēi'àn | dark; darkly | HSK 4 |
| 黑夜 | hēiyè | night | HSK 6 |
| 黑客 | hēikè | (computing) (loanword) hacker | HSK 7-9 |
| 黑手 | hēishǒu | (fig.) malign agent who manipulates from behind the scenes; hidden hand | HSK 7-9 |
| 黑白 | hēibái | black and white; right and wrong | HSK 7-9 |
| 黑马 | hēimǎ | dark horse; fig. unexpected winner | HSK 7-9 |
| 黑心 | hēixīn | ruthless and lacking in conscience; vicious mind full of hatred and jealousy | HSK 7-9 |
| 黑体 | hēitǐ | sans-serif typeface (for Chinese characters); (physics) black body | |
| 黑人 | hēirén | black person; an illegal | |
| 黑鬼 | hēiguǐ | black devil (derogatory term for black or African person) | |
| 黑帮 | hēibāng | bunch of gangsters; criminal gang | |
| 天黑 | tiānhēi | to get dark; dusk |
黑 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 黑
Learning 黑 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 黑
How many strokes are in 黑?
黑 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 黑 mean?
黑 (hēi) means black; dark; sinister. A common word with it is 黑色 (hēisè), meaning "black".
How do you pronounce 黑?
黑 is pronounced hēi, in the first tone (high and level).
Is 黑 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 黑 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
How do you say the color black in Chinese?
Say 黑色 (hēisè). On its own, 黑 works as an adjective, as in 黑猫 (hēi māo), black cat.
What does 黑马 mean?
黑马 (hēimǎ) literally means black horse, but it is used like the English "dark horse". It describes an unexpected winner, for example a team nobody expected to win.