礼（れい）
JLPT N1 · noun
Pitch accent: atamadaka (head-high) — first mora high, then falls
Meaning: propriety / courtesy
Example sentences
- 礼を尽くして相手に接する。 — I treat the other person with the utmost courtesy.
- 礼を欠かないよう心がける。 — I make sure not to be lacking in courtesy.
Idioms & proverbs containing “礼”
- 近しき中に礼儀有り (ちかしきなかにれいぎあり) — good fences make good neighbors; a hedge between keeps friendship green
- 衣食足りて礼節を知る (いしょくたりてれいせつをしる) — well-fed, well-bred; the poor can't afford manners; only when basic needs for living are met can people spare the effort to be polite
- 親しき仲にも礼儀あり (したしきなかにもれいぎあり) — good fences make good neighbors; a hedge between keeps friendship green
- 繁文縟礼 (はんぶんじょくれい) — red-tapism
- 慇懃無礼 (いんぎんぶれい) — superficially polite but actually rude; rude under a veneer of politeness; courteous on the surface but insolent at heart
- 傲岸無礼 (ごうがんぶれい) — arrogance
Related words
See it used in real works
- Example sentences from Japanese novels & web fiction (Massif)
- Hear “礼” pronounced in real videos (YouGlish)