黑 hēi black
black; dark; shady
How to remember 黑: sooty vent + 灬 fire = black. The dad scrubs the sooty vent of the old grill, then blows on the fire until his whole face is black.
Component breakdown
黑 = sooty vent + 灬 fire
- sooty vent
- 灬 fire
The dad scrubs the sooty vent of the old grill, then blows on the fire until his whole face is black.
How it came to be
Fire underneath with a smoke vent above it, soot caked round the opening. The oldest carving also draws it as a person with a blacked face; both end in what smoke leaves behind.
How it is used
- The color black and, by extension, dark: 黑色 (hēisè) black, 天黑了 (tiān hēi le) it's gotten dark.
- Carries a shady/illicit edge - 黑市 (hēishì) black market, 黑客 (hēikè) hacker, 黑名单 (hēimíngdān) blacklist.
- 颠倒黑白 (diāndǎo-hēibái) 'invert black and white' = deliberately distort right and wrong.
Characters built with 黑
Words with 黑
Example sentences
- 这时候天黑了。 Zhè shíhou tiān hēi le.The sun went down at this time.
- 天完全黑了。 Tiān wánquán hēi le.The sky turned completely dark.
- 她在黑板上写字。 Tā zài hēibǎn shàng xiězì.She is writing on the chalkboard.