How to say "ancestry" in Japanese

• 血ちJLPT N4approx.Common
  nounReally 'blood': its ancestry sense pictures descent as blood inherited from one's forebears, so it suits saying that a person carries a certain family's blood rather than naming a lineage outright.
  私わたしたちは血ちがつながっている。↗

  We are related by blood.
• 系統けいとうJLPT N2approx.Common
  nounAncestry as the family line itself; the word to reach for when tracing a family's descent or stating which line a person comes from.
• 出自しゅつじCommon
  nounAncestry as a person's origins or background — where they come from; typical when discussing whether someone's stock is humble or distinguished.

Use 血 when ancestry is imagined as blood inherited from one's forebears, 系統 for the family line or line of descent, and 出自 for a person's origins or family background.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 筋縄すじなわlineage
• 血ちblood
• 系統けいとうlineage
• 出自しゅつじdescent
• 流れながれdescent