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JLPT N113画 · 13 strokesradical 衣freq #2186

brown, woollen kimono

On'yomi (音読み)

  • カツ

Kun'yomi (訓読み)

Mnemonic

Picture a brown woolen kimono hanging on a clothesline, with the fabric gently swaying like the waves of a soft brown sea.

About this kanji

The kanji 褐 primarily means "brown" and is often associated with colors and materials. It is typically used in nouns rather than verbs. You'll find it in compounds like 褐色 (かっしょく), which means "dark brown," and 茶褐色 (ちゃかっしょく), meaning "dark reddish-brown." Another common compound, 褐藻 (かっそう), refers to "brown algae," while 褐炭 (かったん) means "brown coal." A useful note is that although 褐 can convey a specific shade of brown, it's less frequently used in everyday conversation compared to more common color expressions.

Example sentences

  • 褐色の皮膚は日焼けによるものだ。

    The brown skin is due to sun exposure.

Meanings across languages

English
brown, woollen kimono
Tiếng Việt
nâu
日本語
褐色
한국어
갈색
中文
褐色
id
coklat
th
สีน้ำตาล
es
marrón
fr
marron
de
braun
pt
marrom

Common compounds

  • 褐色かっしょくdark brown, colour of tanned skin
  • 茶褐色ちゃかっしょくdark reddish-brown, liver color
  • 褐藻かっそうbrown algae, phaeophyceae
  • 褐炭かったんbrown coal, lignite
  • 褐変かっぺんbrowning
  • 青褐あおかちdark indigo tinged with brighter blue
  • 暗褐色あんかっしょくdark brown
  • 黄褐色おうかっしょくyellowish brown

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