薄墨

うすずみ
noun
pale ink; thinned sumi ink; light gray ink
art
1. pale ink; sumi ink thinned to a light gray
Sumi ink diluted with water so that it writes in a light gray rather than deep black. Used in calligraphy and ink painting for shading, and by long-standing custom for writing condolence letters and the outside of 香典(こうでん) (condolence gift) envelopes.
薄墨(うすずみ)で名前(なまえ)を書(か)く。
Write the name in pale ink.
香典袋(こうでんぶくろ)の表書(おもてが)きは薄墨(うすずみ)で書(か)くのが習(なら)わしだ。
It is customary to write the front of a condolence envelope in pale ink.
墨絵(すみえ)では、薄墨(うすずみ)の濃淡(のうたん)だけで山(やま)の遠近(えんきん)を表現(ひょうげん)する。
In ink painting, the distance of the mountains is expressed through gradations of pale ink alone.

Formed from 薄(うす)い (thin, light) + 墨(すみ) (sumi ink). The opposite is 濃墨(こずみ) (dark ink).

Cultural note

Writing a condolence envelope in 薄墨(うすずみ) expresses mourning: it symbolizes tears diluting the ink, or that the writer was too grief-stricken to grind the ink fully. Congratulatory writing, by contrast, uses deep black ink.

Common collocations

  • 薄墨(うすずみ)で書(か)く: to write in pale ink
  • 薄墨(うすずみ)色(いろ): light gray (ink) color
  • 薄墨(うすずみ)の手紙(てがみ): a letter written in pale ink

Related Words

Compare: 濃墨 (dark ink)
general
Added 2026.7.11 9:20 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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