Kanji 白 - white
Kanji 白 means white. Onyomi readings are ハク (haku) . Kunyomi readings are しろ (shiro), しら (shira).
JLPT N5Grade 1
Stroke order animation (5 strokes)
Stroke Order Diagram
Each box shows the kanji up to that stroke. Red dot indicates stroke start point.
Readings of 白
音On'yomi (音読み)
ハク(haku)
訓Kun'yomi (訓読み)
しろ(shiro)
しら(shira)
白 in different fonts
Vocabulary with 白
| Audio | English  | Romaji | Japanese | Kana |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| white | shiroi | 白い | しろい | |
| interesting | omoshiroi | 面白い | おもしろい |
Common words containing the kanji 白
More Information about 白
Common words with 白
- 白い（しろい, shiroi）: white (adjective)
- 白（しろ, shiro）: white; innocence; “white side” (in games)
- 白紙（はくし, hakushi）: blank paper; start from scratch
- 白鳥（はくちょう, hakuchō）: swan (also family names しらとり, Shiratori)
- 白衣（はくい, hakui）: white coat (lab/doctor’s coat)
- 白髪（しらが／はくはつ, shiraga / hakuhatsu）: gray/white hair
- 告白（こくはく, kokuhaku）: confession (love/truth)
- 純白（じゅんぱく, junpaku）: pure white
Cultural notes with 白
In Japan, white symbolizes purity and cleanliness (e.g., 白無垢・しろむく, shiromuku bridal kimono). It can also signal surrender (白旗・しろはた, shirohata). In sumo/baseball scores, 白星（しろぼし, shiroboshi） = a win, 黒星（くろぼし） = a loss.
Look-alikes: 白 vs 自 vs 百
- 白 (white): has a short little stroke at the top inside, and a closed box.
- 自（じ, self）: Inside, there’s an extra horizontal line
- 百（ひゃく, hyaku, 100）: looks like 白 + one more short line on top. Tip: 百 = many (extra line), 白 = plain.
