Japanese symbol for “lineage”
系
けい
Romaji: kei
system; lineage; group
In Japanese, lineage is 系, read けい (kei).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n, n-suf system; lineage; group
- n corollary (math)
- n, n-suf system (range of strata that correspond to a particular time period) (geol)
- n, n-suf (taxonomical) series
- n-suf -type; -ish
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “lineage”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 筋 | すじ suji | lineage; descent |
| 血統 | けっとう kettou | lineage; pedigree; family line |
| 血筋 | ちすじ chisuji | lineage; stock; descent |
| 系統 | けいとう keitou | lineage; ancestry; family line |
| 由緒 | ゆいしょ yuisho | history; pedigree; lineage |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 系列 | けいれつ keiretsu | series; sequence; system |
| 系統 | けいとう keitou | system |
| 体系 | たいけい taikei | system; organization; organisation |
| 家系 | かけい kakei | family lineage |
| 日系 | にっけい nikkei | (of) Japanese descent |
| 系譜 | けいふ keifu | genealogy; lineage; family tree |
See also: Chinese symbol for “lineage”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.
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