係 — “relation / to be in charge” in Japanese

Grade 3けい, かかり

Radical ⼈ · radical 9 The building block this kanji is filed under

“relation / to be in charge” in Japanese is 係, read kei, kakari (けい, かかり). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 関係 (relationship).

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What does 係 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	係
Meaning	relation / to be in charge
Readings	けい, かかり
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	関係 (relationship)

How to read 係

係 is read kei (けい) or kakari (かかり) depending on the word.

Words with 係

関係かんけい
関係者かんけいしゃ

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Kanji read the same way as 係

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Updated: 2026-08-28