吏 — “Officer / An Official” in Japanese

Master (高手)り

Radical ⼝ · radical 30 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Officer / An Official” in Japanese is 吏, read ri (り). It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 官吏 (government official).

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What does 吏 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	吏
Meaning	Officer / An Official
Readings	り
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	官吏 (government official)

How to read 吏

吏 is read ri (り) depending on the word.

Words with 吏

官吏

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Updated: 2026-08-28