JŌYŌ KANJI · Grade 3
salute
salute · bow · ceremony · thanks
Readings
Official Jōyō readings in table order
On’yomi 音読み
Kun’yomi 訓読み
None listed in this source.
Origin and meaning
The older form meant making an offering with a ritual vessel. Rules of ceremony, respectful conduct and expressions of thanks are later uses.
Written form
The official Jōyō table also prints the following parenthesized form beside 礼:
Compare manuscript and printed examples in the HNG historical glyph archive ↗. Where available, its dated samples document written forms; they do not establish the first use of this character in Japan.
Examples in the official table
- 礼儀，謝礼，無礼
- 礼賛，礼拝
Official notes
- 「礼拝」は，「レイハイ」とも。
When did it enter Japanese?
Chinese characters reached Japan through a long process of contact. Early inscribed objects and sixth-century Japanese names are documented; this is context for the writing system, not a first date for 礼.
礼 appears in the current Jōyō kanji table published on 30 November 2010. This records modern standard status, not the date the character was first used in Japan.
A dated first Japanese use for 礼 has not been verified in the sources attached to this entry.
Agency for Cultural Affairs: writing history ↗ · 2010 Jōyō notice ↗