Origin

This character appears to be built from two parts working together. The top portion serves as a sound hint, suggesting the pronunciation "kei." The bottom part, the radical for "big" or "person," classifies this as a word related to human affairs or relationships. When you pledge or make a promise, you're typically making a formal commitment between people—hence the human element. Over time, the combination came to represent the idea of a binding agreement or vow that connects people together.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint).