Japanese symbol for “dawning”

黎明期

れいめいき

Romaji: reimeiki

dawn (of a new era, civilization, etc.); dawning

In Japanese, dawning is 黎明期, read れいめいき (reimeiki).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

n dawn (of a new era, civilization, etc.); dawning

Written forms: 黎明期、れい明期. Readings: れいめいき.

Kanji and stroke order

黎

dark, black, many

on: レイ、リ
kun: くろ.い

15 strokes · JLPT 1

明

bright, light

on: メイ、ミョウ、ミン
kun: あ.かり、あか.るい、あか.るむ、あか.らむ

8 strokes · JLPT 3

期

period, time, date

on: キ、ゴ

12 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
黎明	れいめい reimei	daybreak; dawn; gray of the morning (grey)
黎巴嫩	レバノン rebanon	Lebanon
萌黎	ほうれい hourei	the masses; common people
黎族	リーぞく riizoku	Li (people)
黔黎	けんれい kenrei	commoners; peasantry; the masses
説明	せつめい setsumei	explanation; exposition; description
明日	あした ashita	tomorrow
明らか	あきらか akiraka	clear; obvious; evident
期間	きかん kikan	period; term; interval

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.