恒例|こうれいkourei[0]heiban (flat)

1. no-adjectiveestablished practice; custom

• Synonym慣例かんれいWrittenWritten/formal. A practice repeated until habitual, not limited to events, as in 「慣例に従う」; 「恒例」 is for things held on schedule as a matter of course.
• Synonym定例ていれいWrittenWritten/formal. Events held at set intervals by rule, chiefly meetings and press conferences, as in 「定例会」「定例記者会見」; 「恒例」 often describes festivals and the like.
• Synonym慣行かんこうWrittenWritten/formal: practices widely followed in society or a trade, as in 「商慣行」. 「恒例」 mostly describes events held as a matter of course.
• Synonym常例じょうれいWrittenWritten/formal and rare: the ordinary, usual way of doing things. 「恒例」 stresses a fixed season or set schedule and usually modifies event words.
• Related因習いんしゅうWrittenWritten/formal and pejorative: outdated conventions that confine people, as in 「因習にとらわれる」. 「恒例」 carries no positive or negative charge.
• Related習慣しゅうかんNeutralThe broadest term: personal habits or social customs, as in 「早起きの習慣」. 「恒例」 is about events held on schedule, though it can cover personal ones too, as in 「毎年恒例の一人旅」.
• Related慣習かんしゅうWrittenWritten/formal: customs and conventions generally observed in society, as in 「慣習法」. 「恒例」 refers to a specific event held on schedule.
• Related決まりきまりNeutralRules and regulations, but also set, customary ways of doing things, as in 「お決まりのコース」. 「恒例」 focuses on events held as a matter of course and has no sense of a rule.
• Related風習ふうしゅうNeutralCustoms peculiar to a place or community, as in 「村の風習」. 「恒例」 has no regional coloring; it describes events held on schedule.
• Related習わしならわしNeutralPractices that have become customary over time, as in 「世の習わし」, with a slightly old-fashioned flavor. 「恒例」 is for events held at a fixed season as a matter of course.
• Related習いならいWrittenWritten/formal, mostly in the phrase 「世の習い」: habit or the way things commonly go, as in 「別れは世の習い」. Not interchangeable with 「恒例」, which means a regularly held event.
• Related習俗しゅうぞくWrittenWritten/formal: folk customs of a locality, found mainly in folklore writing. 「恒例」 is about a concrete event held as a matter of course.
• Related伝統でんとうNeutralCulture, arts or practices handed down through generations, as in 「伝統工芸」. 「恒例」 only requires that something be repeated on schedule; it need not have a long history.
• Related古例これいWrittenWritten/formal and rare in modern use: old precedents or customs handed down since ancient times. 「恒例」 covers events still held on schedule today.
• Related旧例きゅうれいWrittenWritten/formal: a custom or precedent from the past, as in 「旧例に倣う」. 「恒例」 looks at events that are still held regularly now.
• RelatedしきたりNeutralCustoms handed down that people must keep, in families, companies, trades or regions, e.g. 「家のしきたり」; 「恒例」 is an event held on schedule, with no sense of obligation.
• Related俗習ぞくしゅうWrittenWritten/formal and rare: customs passed down among the general public; in daily speech 「風習」 or 「習わし」 is more common. Unlike 「恒例」, it is not about regularly held events.
• Related旧習きゅうしゅうWrittenWritten/formal: old customs, often with the implication that they ought to be swept away, as in 「旧習を打破する」. 「恒例」 is never pejorative.
• Antonym異例いれいNeutralAntonym. Exceptional or unprecedented, as in 「異例の人事」「異例の措置」 — the opposite of 「恒例」, which follows the usual pattern.
• Antonym臨時りんじNeutralAntonym. Temporary or one-off, not part of a regular schedule, as in 「臨時休業」「臨時国会」 — the opposite of 「恒例」, which is fixed and recurring.

Use 「恒例」 for an event held as a matter of course at the same time each year or period, as in 「恒例の花火大会」 or 「毎週恒例」. For general customs or conventions pick 「慣例」; for meetings held at fixed intervals, 「定例」; for traditional rules people are expected to follow, 「しきたり」. 「習慣」 covers personal habits and social customs broadly, and 「伝統」 stresses heritage handed down over generations. The antonyms are 「臨時」 (temporary, not on a schedule) and 「異例」 (exceptional, unprecedented).

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 行事ぎょうじや儀式ぎしきなどが、いつも同おなじ時期じきに、またはしきたりにより決きまって行おこなわれること。