[JLPT N4] Ans: 1. (I chose 3). After looking up おれい and analysing, I’m still not sure. Can someone explain why 1 is better than 3? Is おれい something you say to someone, and not buy? Otherwise, is おれい more related to souvenirs, rather than birthdays?

7 comments

1. お礼 is an expression of thankfulness.

   While it can refer to a physical gift, number 3 is about a birthday present, which is not a “thank you”-type of gift and therefore doesn’t fit the definition of the word.

2. お礼 is an expression of thanks, not an object.

3. You can use おれい to describe a gift, but only one given in appreciation for something someone else did for you. So it’s not appropriate for birthdays.

4. The main meaning of 御礼(おれい) is thanks or gratitude, which you say. There are other meanings such as “gift” or “ceremony”, but I haven’t seen those usages yet.

   You can incorporate it in a sentence with buy, but you still won’t be buying the ” thanks”, e.g.

   お礼として贈り物を買いました。
   I bought a present *as a thanks*.

5. Was going to answer but you got great responses.

6. It’s not that one is better than the other, all 4 are examples of different usage contexts

7. お礼 is being thankful to someone not related to souvenirs lol.