齢 means “age”

れい · rei

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

よわい, とし

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

レイ

JLPT N2 · Taught in secondary school · 17 strokes

The story

Teeth (歯) and 令: picture a vet reading a horse's age from its teeth. 齢 is age: 年齢 is the age box on every form, 高齢者 are the elderly, and 高齢化, the aging of the population, is reshaping Japan.

Used in 年齢 (nenrei, age), 高齢者 (koureisha, elderly person), and 高齢化 (koureika, population aging)

More from Names & Introductions

• 籍 register
• 仲 relationship
• 紹 introduce
• 童 child
• 幼 very young
• 姓 surname
• 介 mediate
• 児 child

Learn 齢 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.