白
白 — White
white
On’yomiハク (haku)
On’yomiビャク (byaku)
Kun’yomiしろ (shiro)
Kun’yomiしら- (shira)
Kun’yomiしろい (shiroi)
Stroke order (5 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 白
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 白 | しろ shiro | white; innocence; innocent person |
| 白書 | はくしょ hakusho | white paper (government report) |
| 白人 | はくじん hakujin | white person; Caucasian; beginner |
| 空白 | くうはく kuuhaku | blank space (in a document); blank; void |
| 白紙 | はくし hakushi | white paper; flyleaf; blank paper |
| 明白 | めいはく meihaku | obvious; clear; plain |
Study notes
白 is a JLPT N5 kanji written with 5 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 1), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #483 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
🔊 Tap the big kanji, any reading or any example word to hear it.