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暗

暗 — darkness, disappear, shade

Learn the correct stroke order for 暗 (darkness), a 13-stroke kanji.

JLPT N3Grade 313 strokes

Stroke Order

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Stroke 0 / 13
On'yomi (音読み)アンan
Kun'yomi (訓読み)くら.いkurai、くら.むkuramu、くれ.るkureru
Strokes13
Radical日
Frequency#1040
Meaningsdarkness, disappear, shade, informal, grow dark, be blinded

Step-by-Step Diagram

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Try Writing It

Practice writing each stroke in the correct order and direction. Start from the green dot.

Draw stroke 1 of 13 — start from the green dot

Common Words

暗いくらいdark; gloomy; murkyi-adjective
暗にあんにimplicitly; indirectly; tacitlyadverb
暗闇くらやみdarkness; the darknoun
暗雲あんうんdark cloudsnoun
暗号あんごうcode; password; ciphernoun
暗殺あんさつassassinationnoun

Usage & Examples

Usage Notes

The kanji 暗 (darkness) is taught in grade 3 of Japanese elementary school and appears at JLPT N3 level. It has 13 strokes with radical 日.

In newspaper frequency rankings, 暗 is #1040, making it a moderately common kanji.

Example Words in Context

暗いくらい — dark; gloomy; murky
暗にあんに — implicitly; indirectly; tacitly
暗闇くらやみ — darkness; the dark

Practice Sheet

Trace then write on your own. Print this row as a PDF practice sheet.

Related Kanji

Same radical (日)

日day旧old times旦daybreak早early旬decameron旨delicious明bright易easy

Frequently Asked Questions

How many strokes does 暗 have?

The kanji 暗 (darkness) has 13 strokes. Watch the animation above to see the correct order.

What is the correct stroke order for 暗?

暗 follows the standard Japanese stroke order as taught in schools. Use the step-by-step diagram or the "Try Writing" tool above to practice each stroke in sequence.

What does 暗 mean?

暗 means: darkness, disappear, shade, informal, grow dark, be blinded. On'yomi readings: アン. Kun'yomi readings: くら.い, くら.む, くれ.る.

What JLPT level is 暗?

暗 is a JLPT N3 kanji. This is an intermediate kanji.