Meaning & readings
orders, laws, command, decree, good
On’yomi レイ
Nanori のり、りょう、れ
Origin
This character appears to be a picture of a person bowing or bending respectfully. The top part represents the head or upper body, and the lower strokes show the bent posture of someone making a respectful gesture to receive or obey a command. Over time, this image of obedience and respect became associated with orders and laws that people must follow—things that demand compliance the way a bow shows submission to authority.
AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Pictographic or simple.
Components
This character is treated as a single, undivided shape (令).
Common words
- 訓令 くんれい directive; instructions
- 号令 ごうれい order (esp. to a number of people); command
- 司令 しれい command; commander
- 指令 しれい order; directive
- 辞令 じれい notice of personnel change (appointment, dismissal, etc.)
- 省令 しょうれい ministerial ordinance
- 政令 せいれい government ordinance; cabinet order
- 発令 はつれい official announcement; proclamation
Reference
- Strokes
- 5
- Kangxi radical
- 9
- Grade
- Grade 4 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #804 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 2
- Unicode
- U+04EE4