also: りん · れい
noun
bell (often small and globular)
Typically refers to a small, round bell that produces a clear ringing sound, such as a wind chime, cat bell, or the bell on a shrine rope.
猫の首に鈴をつけた。
I put a bell on the cat's collar.
風鈴の音が涼しげだ。
The sound of the wind chime is refreshing.
Obsolete reading れい. Not used in modern Japanese.
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the kanji is not needed.
鐘 usually refers to a large, heavy bell such as a temple bell or church bell, while 鈴 is typically small and handheld or attached to something.
ベル is a loanword from English and can refer to any kind of bell, including electric bells and doorbells. 鈴 is more traditional and often implies a small, round, metallic bell.
The origin is uncertain, but it is a native Japanese word. The kanji 鈴 is a phono-semantic compound with 金 (metal) and 令 (a phonetic component), conventionally used to represent 'bell'.