係

• Physical binding: To tie, fasten, or tether. This includes attaching objects (such as seals or pendants) and the act of restraint, such as shackling captives or prisoners.
• Abstract connection: To relate to, involve, or be connected with via kinship, professional associations, or causal links.
• Obligation and dependence: A sense of responsibility or being "bound" by an obligation.

• Transitive verb: To tie [something]; to link [A to B].
• Stative/Intransitive verb: To be related to; to be connected with.
• Attributive/Noun: The connection or relation itself.

• vs 結 (jié): While both involve tying, 結 emphasizes the knot itself or the result of the tying, whereas 係 emphasizes the state of being attached or tethered.
• vs 關 (guān): Both can mean "to relate to," but 關 suggests a mechanical or pivotal connection, while 係 suggests a flexible, organic link.

• Orthography: Often functionally interchangeable with 系. Where a distinction is maintained, 系 tends toward the systemic or ancestral (lineage, categories), while 係 tends toward specific attachment or the act of linking.
• Simplified variant: U+7CFB.

// Tang-period reading: //gèi (Fanqie: 古詣).