家系|かけいkakei[0]heiban (flat)

1. nounfamily lineage
   音楽家おんがくかの家系かけいのお生うまれですか。↗

   Did you come from a musical family?

• Synonym血統けっとうNeutralThe blood tie handed down from ancestors; also used for animal breeds, as in 「血統書」. Close to 「家系」 but leans toward the blood connection itself.
• Synonym家筋いえすじWrittenA family bloodline carried down the generations, often with a nuance of family standing. Fairly rare; in everyday speech 「家系」 or 「家柄」 is the usual choice.
• Synonym血筋ちすじNeutralThe blood relationship itself, as in 「血筋は争えない」. 「家系」 looks at the family line across generations, while 「血筋」 points to the blood connection.
• Synonym系譜けいふWrittenA recorded genealogy or family tree, and figuratively the transmission of ideas or art. 「家系」 is the bloodline itself.
• Related素性すじょうNeutralA person's origins and background, and sometimes an object's provenance; 「素性の知れない人」 is a set phrase. The focus is on background rather than lineage.
• Related毛並みけなみCasualLiterally an animal's coat; figuratively one's breeding or background, as in 「毛並みがいい」. Strongly colloquial.
• Related生まれうまれNeutralBirth or birthplace, as in 「東京生まれ」. Not limited to family descent; 「家系」 refers specifically to the family bloodline.
• Related系統けいとうNeutralBroadly, any line of continuous connection — bloodlines, but also systems for classifying colors, languages, schools of thought. 「家系」 is only about family lines.
• Related出自しゅつじWrittenA person's origins or descent, in written prose — profiles, news reports, research. 「家系」 stresses the line passed down through generations.
• Related家柄いえがらNeutralA family's social standing, as in 「家柄がいい」. 「家系」 is about the bloodline handed down; 「家柄」 is about status.
• Related一族いちぞくNeutralThe group of people sharing one bloodline — the family members themselves. 「家系」 is the line of descent, not the people.
• Related一門いちもんNeutralA large family of one lineage, and by extension a school, sect, or group of sumo stables. 「家系」 speaks only of bloodline transmission.
• Related氏素性うじすじょうWrittenA person's family background and standing, as in 「氏素性も知れない」. Written register, and puts more weight on family standing than 「素性」.
• Related門地もんちWrittenFamily standing or rank; found mostly in legal texts, as in 「門地による差別」.
• Related門閥もんばつWrittenPrestigious families with a flavor of privileged class; mostly in historical contexts.
• Related家門かもんWrittenOne's family and its standing, with weight on family honor, as in 「家門の誉れ」. 「家系」 traces the bloodline itself.
• Related宗族そうぞくWrittenThe main and branch families descending from a common ancestor; used in historical contexts or about Chinese society.
• Related世系せいけいWrittenA bloodline or genealogy handed down the generations; quite rare, and 「家系」 is the everyday word.

For a family bloodline across generations, 「家系」 is the default, as in 「医者の家系」. For the blood connection itself use 「血筋」 or 「血統」; for a family's social standing, 「家柄」. 「生まれ」 is birth or birthplace, 「素性」 and 「氏素性」 a person's background, 「系統」 broader lines of classification, 「系譜」 a recorded family tree, 「一族」 and 「一門」 the family as a group. The rest — 「家筋」「出自」「門地」「門閥」「家門」「宗族」「世系」「毛並み」 — are written, rare, or colloquial picks for special contexts.

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

1. 血筋ちすじ。その家いえの系統けいとう。