# 墨 — black ink; Mexico

墨 means “black ink; Mexico”. It is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 14 strokes. On'yomi: ボク (boku). Kun'yomi: すみ (sumi). You'll see it in words such as 墨 (sumi, “sumi; India ink”).

- Meaning: black ink; Mexico
- On'yomi: ボク (boku)
- Kun'yomi: すみ (sumi)
- Strokes: 14
- Level: JLPT N1 · set Arts & pastimes 2

## How to remember 墨

Parts: 黒 black · 土 earth

## Words with 墨

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 墨 | すみ (sumi) | sumi; India ink |

## Don't confuse it with

[黒](https://moji.ninja/n4-kanji/black/) · [黙](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/silent/)

## More in the “Arts & pastimes 2” set

[拍](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/clap/) · [漫](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/comics/) · [彫](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/carve/) · [謡](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/noh-chant/) · [琴](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/koto/) · [碁](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/go-board-game/) · [墨](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/black-ink/) · [陶](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/pottery/)

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From Moji Ninja (https://moji.ninja/), a free app for learning hiragana, katakana and the JLPT kanji from N5 to N1 with spaced repetition. Page: https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/black-ink/. Last updated 2026-11-01.