惟 wéi — only, but · English

惟

wéi

only, but

At a glance · 惟

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

惟字小篆从心隹声，为形声字；本义为思、仅，常用作句中助词或副词『只』。甲骨文未见。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

惟本义为思虑，亦作副词『只、仅』与语助。

Structure

形声字，下部『心』为意符，右部『隹』为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinwéi

Radical忄

Strokes11

UnicodeU+60DF

Character type形声

Theme虚词

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English only, but Wei is a phonetic-semantic character meaning to think and, as a particle, only and but.

Français seulement, mais Wei est un caractère phonético-sémantique signifiant penser et, comme particule, seulement et mais.

Español solo, pero Wei es un carácter fonosemántico que significa pensar y, como partícula, solo y pero.

العربية فقط، لكن وي حرف صوتي دلالي يعني التفكير، وكذا أداة تعني فقط ولكن.

Русский только, но Вэй — фоносемантический знак, означающий думать и, как частица, только и но.

Common words

惟wéionly/think
惟恐wéi kǒngfor fear

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