# 彩 — colouring; paint

彩 means “colouring; paint”. It is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 11 strokes. On'yomi: サイ (sai). Kun'yomi: いろど(る) (irodoru). You'll see it in words such as 彩り (irodori, “coloring; coloration”).

- Meaning: colouring; paint
- On'yomi: サイ (sai)
- Kun'yomi: いろど(る) (irodoru)
- Strokes: 11
- Level: JLPT N1 · set Colours & light

## How to remember 彩

Sounds like 采: both read サイ.

Parts: 采 dice · 彡 hair

## Words with 彩

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 彩り | いろどり (irodori) | coloring; coloration |
| 彩る | いろどる (irodoru) | to colour; to paint |

## Don't confuse it with

[采](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/dice/) · [菜](https://moji.ninja/n4-kanji/vegetable/) · [採](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/pick/)

## More in the “Colours & light” set

[彩](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/colouring/) · [丹](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/cinnabar/) · [玄](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/mysterious/) · [紫](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/purple/) · [朱](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/vermilion/) · [紺](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/navy-blue/) · [藍](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/indigo/) · [褐](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/brown/)

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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/colouring/. Last updated 2026-11-01.