隷 means “slave, servant, subordinate”

れい · rei

Also: prisoner, criminal

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading): したがう, しもべ
On'yomi (Chinese reading): レイ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 16 strokes

The story

On the right, 隶: the Shuowen reads it as a hand (⺕) grabbing an animal by the tail from behind, caught and held. 隷 is being held under another: 奴隷 is a slave, 隷属 is subjugation, and 隷書 is the broad, flat clerical script of Han dynasty China.

Used in 奴隷 (dorei, slave), 隷属 (reizoku, subordination), and 隷書 (reisho, clerical script)

隷 means “slave, servant, subordinate”

The story

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