藍 means “indigo”

あい · ai

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

あい

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ラン

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 18 strokes

The story

A plant (艹) over 監, to watch over: picture dyers tending vats as the leaves ferment into blue. 藍 is indigo, the plant and its color; Tokushima has grown it for centuries for 藍染め, and Tokyo 2020's emblem was a ring of indigo checks.

Used in 藍色 (aiiro, indigo blue), 藍染め (aizome, indigo dyeing), and 出藍の誉れ (shutsuran no homare, a pupil who surpasses the teacher)

More from Shades & Dyes

• 斑 spot
• 褐 brown
• 瑠 lapis lazuli
• 璃 lapis lazuli
• 鮮 vivid
• 染 dye
• 彩 color
• 丹 red
• 玄 dark
• 淡 pale
• 朱 vermilion
• 紺 navy blue

Learn 藍 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.