Several parts combine into one character.

黄 has various proposed origins — a person wearing jade (玉) at the waist, or a fire-arrow — but it settled early as the character for "yellow." The traditional form is 黃; the shinjitai and simplified is 黄, with the middle stroke reduced.

So the form splits: traditional (ko/en/es) is 黃, shinjitai (ja) and simplified (zh) are 黄 — the middle part differs subtly.

Yellow was a special color in East Asia. In China 黄 was the color of the center and of 土 (earth) in the Five Phases, and the color of the Emperor — a gold that commoners could not wear. 黃河 (the Yellow River), 黃帝 (the Yellow Emperor), and 黃土 (yellow loess) are root images of Chinese civilization.

Korean hanja-sound "hwang": 黃金 (hwanggeum, gold), 黃土 (hwangto, loess), 黃沙 (hwangsa, yellow dust), 朱黃 (juhwang, orange), 卵黃 (nanhwang, egg yolk). Korea uses the traditional 黃.

Mandarin: huáng, 2nd tone. 黄色 (huángsè, yellow), 黄金 (huángjīn, gold), 黄河 (Huánghé, the Yellow River), 黄瓜 (huángguā, cucumber), 蛋黄 (dànhuáng, egg yolk). It is also a common surname — 黄 (Huáng). Japanese: on-readings コウ (kō) and オウ (ō), kun き (ki) and こ (ko). 黄色 (kiiro, yellow), 黄金 (ōgon, gold — an オウ reading), 卵黄 (ran'ō, egg yolk), 黄ばむ (kibamu, to turn yellow). Used daily as 黄 (ki) and 黄色 (kiiro).

Memory aid: from early on the character for "yellow" — the color of earth, gold, and the Emperor.