黑 (hēi): black
黑 (hēi) is a Chinese character meaning “black.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 灬 (structural). It ranks #519 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 黑 a man's face blacked by soot from a fire 灬. Its radical form 灬 (fire) appears in many related characters such as 点 (diǎn, point, o'clock), 热 (rè, hot, to heat), 然 (rán, nature, thus).
Definitions
- black
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA man's face blacked by soot from a fire 灬
Stroke Order
Practice writing 黑 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 黑
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 黑人 | hēi rén | black person |
| 黑帮 | hēi bāng | bunch of gangsters |
| 黑洞 | hēi dòng | (astronomy) black hole |
| 黑夜 | hēi yè | night |
| 黑客 | hēi kè | (computing) (loanword) hacker |
| 黑道 | hēi dào | dark road |
| 黑市 | hēi shì | black market |
| 黑手 | hēi shǒu | (fig.) malign agent who manipulates from behind the scenes |
| 黑白 | hēi bái | black and white |
| 漆黑 | qī hēi | pitch-black |
| 黑钱 | hēi qián | dirty money |
| 黑发 | hēi fà | black hair |
| 黑马 | hēi mǎ | dark horse |
| 黑鹰 | hēi yīng | Black Hawk (helicoper) |
| 抹黑 | mǒ hēi | to discredit |
黑 appears in 100 compound words: 82 as the first character, 18 as the last, and 0 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 黑 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (16)
to confuse right and wrong; to confound right with wrong; to distort the truth; to misrepresent the facts
to confuse black and white; to say that black is white; fig. not to distinguish right from wrong
to confuse right and wrong; to confound right with wrong; to distort the truth; to misrepresent the facts
to confuse black and white; to say that black is white; fig. not to distinguish right from wrong
Showing 12 of 16 idioms containing 黑.
Example Sentences
由于停电，整个小区陷入一片漆黑，居民只能使用手电筒照明。
Yóuyú tíngdiàn, zhěnggè xiǎoqū xiànrù yí piàn qīhēi, jūmín zhǐ néng shǐyòng shǒudiàntǒng zhàomíng.
Due to the power outage, the entire community was plunged into darkness, and residents could only use flashlights for illumination.
无糖食品有哪些东西?代糖饼干、无糖豆浆、黑巧算吗
wú táng shí pǐn yǒu nǎ xiē dōng xī ? dài táng bǐng gān , wú táng dòu jiāng , hēi qiǎo suàn ma
What are the sugar-free foods? Sugar substitute biscuits, sugar-free soy milk, black calculations?
“涨价”策略失灵叠加“黑天鹅”事件,雀巢忙“瘦身”自救
zhǎng jià cè lüè shī líng dié jiā hēi tiān é shì jiàn , qiāo cháo máng shòu shēn zì jiù
The failure of the "price increase" strategy superimposed on the "black swan" incident, Nestlé was busy "slimming" to save itself
上海开唱遭取消抹黑 滨崎步晒维尼帽反击
shàng hǎi kāi chàng zāo qǔ xiāo mā hēi bīn qí bù shài wéi ní mào fǎn jī
Shanghai's singing was canceled and smeared, and Hamasaki hit back with a vinnie hat
菲律宾海警在我南沙群岛附近海域扔下两个黑色桶状物,..
菲 lǜ bīn hǎi jǐng zài wǒ nán shā qún dǎo fù jìn hǎi yù rēng xià liǎng gě hēi sè tǒng zhuàng wù , . .
The Philippine Coast Guard dropped two black barrel-shaped objects in waters near our Spratly Islands...
欧洲头条丨慕尼黑的沉默,比争吵更刺耳
ōu zhōu tóu tiáo 丨 mù ní hēi de chén mò , bǐ zhēng chǎo gēng cī ěr
Europe Headlines丨Munich's Silence Is More Deafening Than Any Clash
你喜欢什么口味的咖啡？浓的黑咖啡？
Nǐ xǐhuan shénme kǒuwèi de kāfēi? Nóng de hēi kāfēi?
How do you like your coffee? Strong and black?
他为什么看上去很黑？
Tā wèishénme kànshangqu hěn hēi?
Why does he look black?
你是在黑市上买的它吗？
Nǐ shì zài hēishì shàng mǎi de tā ma?
Did you buy it on the black market?
这是白纸黑字写在这儿的你怎么还怀疑？
Zhè shì báizhǐhēizì xiě zài zhèr de nǐ zěnme hái huáiyí?
It's written in black and white. How can you be in doubt?
Character Family
Homophones — Characters pronounced hēi
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 黑 (hēi) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 黑 and 白?
How many strokes does 黑 have?
What is the radical of 黑?
What are the components of 黑?
What are common words containing 黑?
What characters sound the same as 黑 (hēi)?
Is 黑 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 黑 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.