涙 — “Tears / Sympathy” in Japanese

Master (高手)るい, れい, なみだ

Radical ⽔ · radical 85 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Tears / Sympathy” in Japanese is 涙, read rui, rei, namida (るい, れい, なみだ). 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 涙 (tears).

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What does 涙 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	涙
Meaning	Tears / Sympathy
Readings	るい, れい, なみだ
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	涙 (tears)

How to read 涙

涙 is read rui (るい) or rei (れい) or namida (なみだ) depending on the word.

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Kanji read the same way as 涙

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

Updated: 2026-08-28