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Kanji for Shade
The kanji most commonly used for "Shade" are 陰、蔭、影.
陰
Kanji that mean Shade
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陰
shadow, dark
Also associated with to cloud.
Onyomi: in Kunyomi: kage, kage.ru 11 strokes Jōyō
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蔭
shade, to cover
Also associated with blessing.
Onyomi: in, on Kunyomi: kage 14 strokes Jinmeiyō
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影
shadow, reflection, figure
Onyomi: ei Kunyomi: kage 15 strokes Jōyō
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暗
dark, ignorant
Also associated with to memorize.
Onyomi: an Kunyomi: ku.reru, kura.i, kura.mu 13 strokes Jōyō
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隈
corner, nook, shade
Onyomi: e, wai Kunyomi: kuma, sumi 12 strokes Jinmeiyō
陰 is the character for shade — the cool, unlit side of a thing. 日陰 is the shade of a building or tree, 木陰 the shade under branches, and the same character is the yin of 陰陽 (in’yō), the dark and receptive half of the pair. Read alone it is kage.
影 is the shadow that something casts: the dark shape itself, and also a silhouette or trace (面影, the lingering impression of someone’s face). English collapses shade and shadow onto one word; Japanese keeps them apart, and both are read kage. 陰 is the shaded area, 影 the shadow of a body.
蔭 is a variant of 陰 leaning toward shelter and patronage — it is one way of writing お蔭 (okage), ‘thanks to you’. 暗 is not shade at all but darkness itself (暗い, 暗黒), and 隈 is a corner or recess, best known from 隈取り, the bold face painting of kabuki. Characters glossed ‘cover; shade; mantle’, such as 蔽 and 覆, mean physically covering something over.
Before you use Shade kanji
陰 is the accurate character for shade, but it is also the yin of yin-yang and carries senses of negative, hidden and, in some compounds, the genitals (陰部). Most people who ask for 'shadow' actually want 影. 暗 reads simply as dark or gloomy.