青 — Kanji Reference

青 (blue, green): 8 strokes, JLPT N5. On: セイ、ショウ. Kun: あお、あお-い.

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青

Property Value
Meaning blue, green
Strokes 8
JLPT Level N5
On-reading (音読み) セイ、ショウ
Kun-reading (訓読み) あお、あお-い
Radical 月 (にくづき/つき) - U+6708

Stroke Order

The kanji 青 follows standard top-to-bottom, left-to-right rules.

  1. Stroke 1: Horizontal top line.
  2. Stroke 2: Horizontal line below the first.
  3. Stroke 3: Vertical line starting from the top center.
  4. Stroke 4: Horizontal line closing the top box.
  5. Stroke 5: Vertical line on the left side.
  6. Stroke 6: Horizontal line forming the top of the bottom component.
  7. Stroke 7: Horizontal line forming the middle of the bottom component.
  8. Stroke 8: Horizontal line forming the base of the bottom component.

Radical Analysis

The radical for 青 is 月 (often appearing as the bottom component). Historically, the top part represents a sprout (生) growing under the sun (日), symbolizing the vibrant color of nature. In modern Japanese, the bottom component is visually similar to the "moon" (月) radical, though it originated from a different character representing a well or earth.

Mnemonic

Imagine a sprout (生) growing under the sun (日). As it reaches toward the sky, it turns a vibrant blue/green color.

On-readings (音読み) with Examples

セイ (Sei)

Word Reading Romaji English
青年 せいねん seinen youth / young man
青写真 せいしゃしん seishashin blueprint
青空 せいぞら seizora blue sky

ショウ (Shō)

Word Reading Romaji English
青嵐 しょうらん shōran blue mountain mist
青色 しょうしょく shōshoku blue color

Kun-readings (訓読み) with Examples

あお (Ao)

Word Reading Romaji English
青信号 あおしんごう ao-shingō green light (traffic)
青海苔 あおのり aonori dried green seaweed

あお-い (Ao-i)

Word Reading Romaji English
青い空 あおいそら aoi sora blue sky
青い果実 あおいかじつ aoi kajitsu unripe (green) fruit

JLPT N5 Words Using 青

Word Reading Romaji English JLPT
青い あおい aoi blue/green N5
青信号 あおしんごう ao-shingō green light N4
青年 せいねん seinen youth N3
青空 あおぞら aozora blue sky N3

Example Sentences

Japanese Reading Romaji English
今日は青い空ですね。 きょうはあおいそらですね。 Kyō wa aoi sora desu ne. The sky is blue today, isn't it?
信号が青になった。 しんごうがあおになった。 Shingō ga ao ni natta. The traffic light turned green.
彼はまだ青い。 かれはまだあおい。 Kare wa mada aoi. He is still inexperienced (green).
青い海を見に行きたい。 あおいうみをみにいきたい。 Aoi umi o mi ni ikitai. I want to go see the blue sea.
青年が走っている。 せいねんがはしっている。 Seinen ga hashitte iru. A young man is running.
青いリンゴは酸っぱい。 あおいりんごはすっぱい。 Aoi ringo wa suppai. Green apples are sour.

Common Confusion Pairs

Kanji Reading Meaning How to distinguish
青 あお Blue/Green Has the "sprout" top and "moon" bottom.
精 セイ Spirit/Refined Has the "rice" (米) radical on the left.
清 セイ Pure/Clean Has the "water" (氵) radical on the left.

Usage Frequency Note

青 is a fundamental kanji used daily. In Japanese, the word ao (青) covers both blue and green (e.g., green traffic lights are called ao-shingō). It is highly common in both formal writing and casual speech.