Definition
Operating at a profit or having positive account balances; being financially successful or solvent.
Etymology
Like 'in the red,' this phrase comes from accounting practices where profits were written in black ink. The contrast between black and red ink created a clear visual distinction between profit and loss in ledger books.
Kelly Says
The pairing of 'in the black' with 'in the red' creates one of the most elegant binary oppositions in business language. It's interesting that black, often associated with negativity in other contexts, represents the positive financial state, showing how context completely transforms color symbolism.
Translations
ARالعربية
في اللون الأسود
fi al-la-wan al-aswad
CACatalà
en el negre
en el ne-gre
CSČeština
v černém
v čern-em
DADansk
i det sorte
i det sor-te
DEDeutsch
im schwarzen
im ZWAR-nən
ELΕλληνικά
στην μαύρη
sti tin mav-ri
ESEspañol
en el negro
en el NEH-gro
FISuomi
mustassa
mustassa
FRFrançais
dans le noir
dan le nwar
HAHA
a tsakiya
a tsaki-ya
HEעברית
בצבע שחור
be-tza-ch she-chor
HUMagyar
a fekete
a fe-ket-e
IDBahasa Indonesia
dalam warna hitam
dalam warna hitam
ITItaliano
nel nero
nel NEH-ro
KO한국어
검은색으로
geomeunsaek-euro
MSBahasa Melayu
dalam warna hitam
dalam warna hitam
NLNederlands
in het zwart
in het zwart
NONorsk
i det sorte
i det sor-te
PLPolski
na czarno
na czarn-o
PTPortuguês
no vermelho
no reh-VOH
RORomână
în negru
in ne-gru
RUРусский
в чёрном
v chyor-nom
SVSvenska
i det svarta
i det svar-ta
SWKiswahili
katika nyeusi
ka-ti-ka ny-eusi
UKУкраїнська
в чорному
v chornomu
VITiếng Việt
trong màu đen
trong mau đen
YOYO
ni gbogbo
ni gbog-bo