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Kanji for Dark

The kanji most commonly used for "Dark" are 暗、闇、陰.

暗

Kanji that mean Dark

  • 暗

    dark, ignorant

    Also associated with to memorize.

    Onyomi: an Kunyomi: ku.reru, kura.i, kura.mu 13 strokes Jōyō

  • 闇

    dark, darkness, ignorant

    Onyomi: an, on Kunyomi: kura.i, yami 17 strokes Jōyō

  • 陰

    shadow, dark

    Also associated with to cloud.

    Onyomi: in Kunyomi: kage, kage.ru 11 strokes Jōyō

  • 冥

    dark

    Also associated with the afterlife, divine power.

    Onyomi: mei, myoh Kunyomi: kura.i 10 strokes Jōyō

  • 幽

    dim, secluded, quiet

    Onyomi: yuu Kunyomi: fuka.i, kasuka, kura.i, shiro.i 9 strokes Jōyō

暗 is darkness as the absence of light, and it is the ordinary word: 暗い (dark), 暗闇 (darkness), 明暗 (light and shade). It also means unseen or done without looking, which is how it gives 暗記 (memorizing by heart) and 暗号 (a code).

闇 is darkness as a thing rather than a condition — the dark itself. 闇夜 is a moonless night, and by extension 闇 means the illicit, as in 闇市, a black market. 陰 is shade, the dark side of something: 日陰 (the shade), 陰気 (gloomy), and the yin of 陰陽.

冥 is the darkness of the world after death, and lives in 冥福, the repose of the dead, rather than in any everyday sense of dark.

昧 and 曖 are between them confined to one word, 曖昧 (ambiguous, vague) — dark in the sense of unclear. 濃 and 褐 are darkness of color only: 濃い is deep or strong, 褐色 is brown.

Kanji associated with Dark

These carry dark as a connotation rather than as their core meaning.

  • 昧

    dark, obscure

  • 曖

    dim, ambiguous, obscure

  • 濃

    thick, dense, rich

  • 晦

    dark, last day

  • 昏

    dusk, dark, ignorant

  • 褐

    brown, dark, coarse cloth

  • 斑

    spots, uneven

  • 盲

    blind, ignorant

  • 蔽

    to cover

  • 黑

    black, dark

  • 黎

    black, many, dawn

  • 默

    silent, still

Words using Dark kanji

Everyday Japanese vocabulary built from the characters above.

  • 暗殺 あんさつ Listen assassination
  • 暗闇 くらやみ Listen darkness; the dark
  • 陰謀 いんぼう Listen plot; intrigue; scheme
  • 冥福 めいふく Listen happiness in the next world; heavenly bliss; repose of one's soul
  • 幽霊 ゆうれい Listen ghost; specter; spectre
  • 真っ暗 まっくら Listen pitch-dark; pitch-black; completely dark
  • 無闇に むやみに Listen thoughtlessly; recklessly; rashly
  • 陰り かげり Listen shadow (e.g. on someone's happiness); cloud; shade
  • 明暗 めいあん Listen light and darkness; light and shade

Before you use Dark kanji

闇 is the character with real weight — it reads as the dark itself, but it also carries the black-market and underworld sense, which may not be what you want. 暗 reads as unlit, and of people as gloomy. 濃 and 褐 only mean deep-colored and brown.

Other meanings to explore

See all kanji by meaning →

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