DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

係

简系 · 繁係

Mandarin · pinyin xì

to connect
to relate to
to tie up
to bind
to be (literary)

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

係: Look up this written character
系: xì · system; line, link, connection

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4 · xi4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link52same-tone records

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

係 · find source passages ↗ · 系 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

hai6

Cantonese word readings for 係. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

to relate; to bear on
to tie; to bind
(formal or Cantonese, Hakka) to be (copula)
(Cantonese, Hakka) yes (as answer to a question)

character · Etymology 2

(Hokkien) alternative form of 是 (sī, sǐ, “to be”)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack