Meaning & readings

slave, servant, prisoner, criminal, follower

On’yomi レイ
Kun’yomi したが.う、しもべ

Origin

This character combines two components suggesting subjugation and control. The left element represents a person or figure, while the right side contains water-related strokes that historically conveyed the idea of something flowing or being constrained. The overall composition suggests a person brought under control or made to follow, which led to meanings of slave, servant, or subordinate. Over time, the character's visual pattern became standardized into its current form, but the core idea of a person in a dependent or controlled position remained tied to its meaning.

隷 16 strokes

Components

  • ⺕ meaning part
  • 氺 meaning part

Common words

  • 奴隷 どれい slave; servant

Reference

Strokes
16
Kangxi radical
171
Formation type
Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
Grade
Jōyō (secondary school)
Frequency rank
#2009 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 1
Unicode
U+096B7