黑
hēi · HSK 2
black
⬛ Etymology: a person 大 covered in soot from fire 火 below — black with smoke
Ancient form showed a figure marked by fire's soot, hence 'black'. The modern shape keeps the four-dot 灬 (fire) at the bottom. Tone 1 (hēi) is high and flat — say it like a steady shout.
黑 — top 里 over 灬 (fire) — soot from flame
Originally a pictograph of a person whose face was blackened by smoke from a fire, with the lower 灬 representing flames and the upper part showing soot stains. Over time the form was regularized into the modern shape, and the meaning broadened from 'soot-blackened' to the general color black.