令和（れいわ、reiwa）
- Reiwa era

The word 令和 is the name of the current era in Japan. It began on May 1, 2019, following the abdication of Emperor Akihito and the ascension of Emperor Naruhito. 令和 is used to refer to the current period of Japanese history, much like "the Elizabethan era" in English. The name 令和 is derived from the "Manyoshu," an ancient anthology of Japanese poetry. The name signifies "beautiful harmony," "order," and "auspiciousness." It’s a period meant to be characterized by peace and harmony.

⚫︎ 令和元年 (れいわがんねん) Translation: The first year of Reiwa (2019) ⚫︎ 令和時代 (れいわじだい) Translation: The Reiwa era ⚫︎ 令和5年 (れいわごねん) Translation: The 5th year of Reiwa (2023)

令和 is used primarily when referring to dates. Just as you might say "in the year 2023" in English, you'd say "in 令和5" in Japanese. It is used in official documents, calendars, and everyday conversation. It is also used when discussing events or trends that occurred during this era. You would not use 令和 to describe something in the past before this era.

令和 is written in kanji. The reading is れいわ in hiragana. There is no other way to write this word. Okurigana is not used as it is already a complete word.

There are no direct synonyms for the name of an era. Instead of synonyms, you would use phrases like “the current era” 現在の時代 (げんざいのじだい, "the present time.") or “the Reiwa period” 令和の期間 (れいわのきかん, "the Reiwa period").

Since 令和 refers to the present era, its antonyms would be past eras, like: ⚫︎ 平成 (Heisei) ⚫︎ 昭和 (Showa) ⚫︎ 大正 (Taisho) ⚫︎ 明治 (Meiji)

この書類は《令和2年のものです。》 ・Translation: This document is from the year 2 of Reiwa. (2020) ・Explanation: This sentence indicates that the document was created during the Reiwa era.

私は《令和になってから日本へ引っ越しました。》 ・Translation: I moved to Japan after the start of Reiwa. ・Explanation: This sentence states that the speaker moved to Japan in or after 2019.

The name 令和 comes from an excerpt in the Manyoshu, a classical Japanese poetry anthology. The specific quote, in kanji, is: 初春令月、気淑風和 (しょしゅんれいげつ、きよくかぜやわらぎ), which roughly translates to "In the first month of the New Year, the air is good and the wind is gentle." The two characters, 令 (れい, rei) which means "order" or "auspicious", and 和 (わ, wa) which means "harmony" or "peace," were chosen to represent the new era.