King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “illustration”

Romaji: rei
example; instance; illustration; case

In Japanese, illustration is , read (rei).

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

  1. n example; instance; illustration; case
  2. n precedent
  3. n custom; habit; practice; usage

Kanji and stroke order

example, custom, usage
on: レイ
kun: たと.える
8 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “illustration”

WordReadingMeaning
ず zudrawing; picture; diagram
さしえ sashieillustration (in a book, newspaper, etc.); picture
イラスト irasutoillustration; picture; sketch
じつれい jitsureiexample; illustration; precedent
えず ezuillustration; drawing

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
たとえば tatoebafor example; for instance; e.g.
れいがい reigaiexception
ひれい hireiproportion
じょうれい joureiregulations; rules
こうれい koureiestablished practice; custom
れいねん reinenaverage (normal, ordinary) year

See also: Chinese symbol for “illustration”.

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.

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