Radical 黑

12 strokes

windowpane (671b) + earth 土 (54a) + fire 灬 (185a) = black 黑

The top part of this is often handwritten 里 (“in”, Character 157), where the “horns” are replaced by a single horizontal stroke.

[黑板 (333) hēibǎn blackboard]

[黑市 (427) hēishì black market]

[黑白 (22) hēibái black and white; right and wrong]

You throw earth at the upstairs window-pane to alert the occupants that their house is on fire— they run out unharmed but they’re black with soot. / The giant lets them stay in his hayloft while their house is rebuilt.

mouth 口 (5) + mouth 口 (5) = kiss

You can tell from the stroke order that these are not “really” two mouths glued together (see also 629a), but we liked the idea of being able to use “kiss” in a few stories!

Use your imagination! / [No pronunciation needed]

kiss (671a) + horns 丷 (65a) = windowpane

Note the stroke order, here and in the following character.

The two deer met for a kiss but they were too near the hut and their horns smashed the windowpane. / [No pronunciation needed]