Copyright © 2026 Kotomora. All Rights Reserved.
係 (かかり) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Common word JLPT N3 Freq. Frequency Top 5,000 Meanings 1
noun
person in charge ; duty ; charge
Refers to a person assigned to a specific task or role, or the role itself. Common in workplace and organizational contexts.
See also: 掛かり (かかり)
Where is the person in charge of reception?
2
noun
connection ; linking
linguistics
Linguistics term, almost exclusively used in the phrase 係り結び (kakari-musubi), referring to a classical Japanese grammatical construction where certain particles link to specific sentence-ending forms.
See also: 係り結び
Written forms 係かかり Usage 97%
Standard kanji spelling for the 'person in charge' sense. High priority.
係かか り Usage 3%
Alternate spelling used especially in the linguistic term 係り結び.
Kanji 係 person in charge, connection, duty Similar words 担たん 当とう 担当 is more about being 'in charge of' a specific task or area, while 係 often refers to the designated person or post itself.
係かか り 結むす び The full linguistic term; 係り is the linking particle part of this construction.
Etymology Derived from the verb 掛かる (かかる, 'to be involved with, to hang on'), nominalized as 掛かり and later specialized with the kanji 係 for the 'person in charge' sense. The linguistic sense comes from the idea of grammatical 'linking'.
