歴 connects a sequence of past events with words for history and personal records. Learn it in complete words.

The idea

歴 has 14 strokes and is read れき in 歴史（れきし）, 履歴（りれき）, 学歴（がくれき） and 経歴（けいれき）. Follow the linked stroke diagram and use the table to connect each compound with its context.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
歴史れきしI study Japanese history.
履歴りれきI checked my browser history.
学歴がくれきPlease write your educational background on the form.
経歴けいれきShe explained her career so far.

Examples

  • 日本にほんの歴史れきしを勉強べんきょうしています。I study Japanese history.
  • この町まちには長ながい歴史れきしがあります。This town has a long history.
  • ブラウザーの履歴りれきを確認かくにんしました。I checked my browser history.
  • 用紙ようしに学歴がくれきを書かいてください。Please write your educational background on the form.
  • 彼女かのじょはこれまでの経歴けいれきを説明せつめいしました。She explained her career so far.
  • この大学だいがくの歴史れきしについての本ほんを読よみました。I read a book about the history of this university.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

履歴 means a record or history, not a school curriculum. 学歴 concerns education; 経歴 can include education and work. Read the whole compound rather than assigning the same meaning to each one.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 歴史 in hiragana.

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    れきし

    歴史 is れきし: the first example concerns Japanese history. Learn both characters as one word.

  2. Write the reading of 履歴 in hiragana.

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    りれき

    履歴 is りれき: the browser example refers to a record of visited pages.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: 学＿（がくれき）［歴／暦］.

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    歴

    歴 completes 学歴（がくれき）, a person’s educational background.

Use it today

Write 歴 following the stroke diagram. Cover the table, read 歴史 and 履歴 aloud, then describe a person’s 経歴 in a sentence.