漢字Kanji · in Textiles, Plants & Food
紅: crimson, deep red
JLPT N29 strokesGrade 6Your ink: 白 Not met
糸 carries the meaning · 工 gives the sound
9 strokes
Small seal · Qin Today
Small seal: Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Four readings, and the words that use each
コウkou · on'yomi · in compounds
- 紅白こうはくred and white, auspicious colors
- 紅梅こうばいred-blossomed plum tree
- 紅葉こうようautumn colors
- 紅茶こうちゃblack tea
クku · on'yomi
- 深紅しんくdeep crimson
べにbeni · kun'yomi · on its own
- 紅色べにいろred color
- 紅花べにばなsafflower
- 口紅くちべにlipstick
くれないkurenai · kun'yomi
- 紅くれないdeep red, crimson
Special readingsThese words are read as a whole, not from the readings above.
- 紅葉もみじJapanese maple
Also read あかい, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.
成り立ち
Where it comes from
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Everything is connected! This radical represents the invisible threads that tie us together—our relationships, the fine "silk" of our words, and the intricate weaving of our personal histories.”
繋がり
Connections
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
紅 takes the 工 family's reading, コウ (kou).
Easy to confuse
The difference, side by side紅 crimson · 工
vs糾 twist · 丩In ChineseSimplified 红 · traditional, as in Japanese · hóng
Japan keeps the traditional form 紅; mainland China simplifies it to 红.
- Simplified
- 红 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 紅 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin hóng most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.
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