黑色
hēisè · HSK 2
black
⬛ 黑色 = 黑 (black) + 色 (color)
黑 depicts soot from a fire-blackened chimney; 色 means color or shade. Together they form the standard noun for the color black, parallel to 红色 (red) and 白色 (white).
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.
色 — person 人 (top) + kneeling figure 卩 (bottom)
Originally a pictograph showing one person above another, traditionally interpreted as depicting facial expressions or intimate posture between two people. The earliest meaning was 'facial expression' or 'countenance,' which extended to 'appearance' and eventually 'color' (the look of things). The 'shǎi' reading is a colloquial variant used for everyday color words.