beni, kurenai, kō, ku The color crimson is beniiro or kurenai. A lipstick is kuchibeni. A lipstick brush is benifude. Fude is a brush. Red pickled ginger is called benishōga. It is sometimes served as a relish.   Kōcha is English tea. Kōhaku is red and white. It is a symbol of happy events. Kōhaku [...]

gin The color silver is gin. The gin of ginkgo is this character. The original word is ginkyō and it was mistakenly written as ginkgo before it became an English word. We call it ichō. Ginga is a galaxy. Ga is a big river. Ginkō is a bank. Kō means a store.   Start to [...]

hai, kai The color gray is haiiro. Ash is hai. In Japan, corpses are burned to ashes. A euphemism for dying is to become ashes, that is, hai ni naru. There are some compounds including this character. Most of them are not familiar to ordinary Japanese like me. I think they are obsolete. Draw the [...]

kuro, kuro-i, koku The color black is kuro, kuroiro, or kuro-i. It is considered black food is healthy. Kurogoma (black sesame), kurozatō or kokutō (dark brown sugar), kurozu (black vinegar), kuromame (black soybeans), and kuromai (black rice). I would like to believe that kurobīru (black beer or dark beer) and kuromitsu (black molasses) are also [...]