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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

係

/ɕi⁵¹/
to relate; to bear on
  • Phono-semantic compound 形聲
  • HSK 1
  • radical 人
  • 9 strokes

Etymology graph

  • inherited
  • borrowed
  • derived
  • parts
  • meaning component
  • sound component
  • related
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Origin

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *keːɡs): semantic 人 + phonetic 系 (OC *ɡeːɡs).

The simplified form 系 also exists as a traditional character, and is also used to simplify 繫. In ancient times, 系, 係, and 繫 were usually interchangeable graphic variants, although in some compounds, only one form is acceptable (e.g. 世系 and 繋辭／繋辞).

The meaning “yes” in Cantonese and Hakka is likely an independently created sound symbolism, only associated with this character by folk etymology.

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lineage

  • meaningChinese人 “man; person; people (Classifier: 個／个 m c; 隻／只 h)”
  • soundChinese系 “department; faculty”
    • ideaChinese手 “hand (Classifier: 隻／只 m c mn; 雙／双 m mn; 對／对 c)”
    • ideaChinese糸 “thin silk”

Meanings

character
  1. to relate; to bear on
  2. to tie; to bind
  3. to be (copula)
  4. yes (as answer to a question)

Shuowen Jiezi 說文解字

係：絜束也。从人从系，系亦聲。

Xu Shen, c. 100 CE — the first analytical dictionary of Chinese characters.

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 關聯、牽涉。 例：干係、關係
  2. 是。 例：確係、實係
  3. 綑綁。通「繫」。 例：係頸

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

How 係 was written 字形演變

  1. 係 in Oracle bone script
    Oracle bone
    甲骨文
    Shang, c. 1250–1050 BCE
  2. 係 in Chu slips & silk script
    Chu slips & silk
    楚系簡帛
    Warring States
  3. 係 in Small seal script
    Small seal
    說文小篆
    Shuowen, c. 100 CE
  4. 係 in Regular script
    Regular
    楷書
    since c. 200 CE

Historical forms collected by the legacy etymfun dataset; most characters have several attested variants.

Sources

  • Historical glyph forms (zdic.net 字形演变) — Rights unverified
  • HSK / TOCFL word lists — Facts (levels)
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • 說文解字 Shuowen Jiezi (Xu Shen, c. 100 CE) — Public domain
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Wiktionary: 係