A water-based ink for ink jet recording contains a colorant containing a dye; water; an anionic zirconium complex ion; and a surfactant represented by the formula (1) in the formula (1): R1 is an alkyl group having 12 to 18 carbon atoms or an R4—CO—NH group (R4 is an alkyl group having 12 carbon atoms); each of R2 and R3 is a methyl group or a hydroxyethyl group; and R2 and R3 may be identical to or different from each other. Chromaticness of a recorded matter is improved without any increase in dye concentration.