系
系 — Lineage
lineage, system
On’yomiケイ (kei)
Kun’yomi—
Stroke order (7 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 系
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 系列 | けいれつ keiretsu | series; sequence; system |
| 日系 | にっけい nikkei | (of) Japanese descent; non-Japanese of Japanese descent; nikkeijin |
| 体系 | たいけい taikei | system; organization; organisation |
| 生態系 | せいたいけい seitaikei | ecosystem |
| 系統 | けいとう keitou | system; lineage; ancestry |
| 系 | けい kei | system; lineage; group |
Study notes
系 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 7 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #567 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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