ChiramiN4 kanji · 8 strokes
青 means blue, green
生 a young plant · 月 a well of paint (old form)
青Real origin
A young plant (生) and a well of paint (now drawn like 月): blue, green.
Real origin: where the kanji comes from, as far as scholars agree.
Meaning and readings
- Meanings
- blue, green
- JLPT level
- N4
- Strokes
- 8
- School grade
- Grade 1 in Japan
Japanese (kunyomi) あお ao
あお (ao) is the Japanese word for this kanji. You use it when the kanji stands alone or has kana after it. Dictionaries call this the kun reading.
Other Japanese readings: あおい aoi
From Chinese (onyomi) セイ sei
セイ (sei) came from Chinese with the character. You mostly hear it in words made of several kanji. Dictionaries call this the on reading.
Other readings from Chinese: ショウ shou
Tap a reading to see when it's used. Why kanji have two kinds of reading: onyomi vs kunyomi.
Common word
青い あおい · aoi
blue, azure
Built from
Tap a part to see the N5 and N4 kanji that use it.
Quick check
What does 青 mean?
Right: 青 means blue, green.Not quite: 青 means blue, green.In 青い, which reading does 青 use?
Right. 青い is read あおい (aoi): 青 takes あお, its Japanese reading, with い after it.Not quite. 青い is read あおい (aoi): 青 takes あお, its Japanese reading, with い after it.