例 — “example / precedent” in Japanese

Grade 4れい, たと

Radical ⼈ · radical 9 The building block this kanji is filed under

“example / precedent” in Japanese is 例, read rei, tato (れい, たと). It is a Grade 4 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 4 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 例外 (exception).

Try it now

What does 例 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	例
Meaning	example / precedent
Readings	れい, たと
Grade	Grade 4 (Upper)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	例外 (exception)

How to read 例

例 is read rei (れい) or tato (たと) depending on the word.

Words with 例

例外

Learn 例 in real sentences — free

Read stories and news built from only the kanji you already know. KanjiSchool’s path covers all 2,136 Jōyō kanji — 1,018 ready to learn now.

Start free — no credit card →

Kanji read the same way as 例

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28