系

2 readings · tap one to hear it

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

Sound it out + = · + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

thread

Components 丿糸

lineage · Heisig RSH #1099

a drop of + floss

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
没关系	méi guān xi	it doesn't matter
电子学系	diàn zǐ xué xì	department of electronics
不分系	bù fēn xì	to enroll without declaring one's major or department (in one's first year(s) of universit…
化学系	huà xué xì	department of chemistry
外交关系理事会	Wài jiāo Guān xì Lǐ shì huì	Council on Foreign Relations (US policy think tank)
系出名门	xì chū míng mén	to come from a distinguished family
发生关系	fā shēng guān xi	to have sex with sb
中日关系	Zhōng Rì guān xì	Sino-Japanese relations
外文系	wài wén xì	department of foreign languages; modern languages (college department)
音系学	yīn xì xué	phonology
大系	dà xì	compendium
水系	shuǐ xì	drainage system
河外星系	hé wài xīng xì	extragalactic star system; galaxy (not including our Galaxy)
自主神经系统	zì zhǔ shén jīng xì tǒng	autonomic nervous system
性关系	xìng guān xi	sexual relations; sexual contact; intercourse
系上	jì shang	to tie on; to buckle up; to fasten
拉关系	lā guān xì	to seek contact with sb for one's own benefit; to suck up to sb
基尼系数	Jī ní xì shù	Gini coefficient (a measure of statistical dispersion)
体系	tǐ xì	system; setup; CL:個\|个[ge4]
三角关系	sān jiǎo guān xì	triangular relationship; (esp.) a love triangle

These characters use 系 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
系 sound part	xì	system; line, link, connection
鲧	gǔn	giant fish; Gun, mythical father of the emperor Yu