What 레 means
Usually, 레 is a syllable sound, not a word on its own.
Before Hangul, Korean writing adapted Chinese characters in systems called Idu, Gugyeol, and Hyangchal. Hangul was designed to ease literacy; its earliest cited record is 1443, and the Hangul guide Hunminjeongeum appeared in 1446.
What it means when someone sends it to you
2 readingsIn 레몬 or 레일
The words mean “lemon” and “rail”; 레 contributes only a syllable.
In Korean music
레 follows 도 (do); its pitch depends on the key.
Questions people ask
1Why does 레 show as a box on some devices?
Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.
How to type 레
Windows (Word)
Alt+XType B808, then Alt+X to get 레.
Windows
Win+Rrun charmap for the full table, or use the emoji picker's Ω symbols tab (Win + .).
macOS
Control+Command+SpaceOpen the character viewer and search “hangul syllable re”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType b808, then Enter or Space.
HTML
레CSS
\B808How do I type 레?
Switch to Korean two-set input; press F, then P, without Shift.
Why did 레 split apart?
NFC stores 레 as one character; NFD breaks it into 레. Hangul shaping can join them visually; without it, they may separate.
Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
레
HTML hex
레
CSS content
content: "\B808";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%EB%A0%88
1
On screen
1
Code points
1
JS .length
3
UTF-8 bytes
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.