red
On'yomi (音読み)
- セキ
- シャク
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
- あか
- あか-
- あか.い
- あか.らむ
- あか.らめる
About this kanji
The kanji 「赤」means red, and it can be used both as a noun and an adjective. For instance, the adjective form is 「赤い」(akai), which means something is red, like an apple or a sunset. This kanji appears in several important compounds, such as 「赤ちゃん」(akachan), meaning baby, which often symbolizes innocence and new life. Another compound, 「赤字」(akaji), refers to being in the red financially, indicating a loss. It's also found in 「赤松」(akamatsu), the Japanese red pine. Note that in contexts like traffic lights, red usually signals stopping or caution.
Example sentences
赤い花が咲いている。
Red flowers are blooming.
Meanings across languages
- English
- red
- Tiếng Việt
- đỏ
- 日本語
- 赤い
- 한국어
- 빨간
- 中文
- 红
- id
- merah
- th
- แดง
- es
- rojo
- fr
- rouge
- de
- rot
- pt
- vermelho
Common compounds
- 赤字あかじ(being in) the red, deficit, red letter
- 赤松あかまつJapanese red pine (Pinus densiflora), Japanese umbrella pine, tanyosho pine
- 赤ちゃんあかちゃんbaby, infant
- 赤いあかいred, crimson, scarlet
- 赤軍せきぐんRed Army (Soviet Union, 1918-1946), Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, Japanese Red Army
- 赤道せきどうequator, (celestial) equator
- 赤飯せきはんred rice (beans and mochi) for auspicious occasions
- 赤面せきめんblushing, getting red in the face, embarrassment
Want to actually learn this kanji?
The dictionary is one view. The Kanji 360 app wraps every character with mnemonic images, audio readings, stroke-order animation, story context, and SRS scheduling — free to start on iPhone, iPad, and Android.