维 wéi — maintain, tie · English

维

wéi

maintain, tie

At a glance · 维

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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、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

维字小篆从糸隹声，为形声字；本义为系物的大绳，引申为维系、思考。甲骨文未见。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

维本义为绳索，引申为维系、思维、语助。

Structure

形声字，左部『糸』为意符，右部『隹』为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinwéi

Radical纟

Strokes11

UnicodeU+7EF4

Character type形声

Theme其他

Six languages, one character

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

English maintain, tie Wei is a phonetic-semantic character meaning a cord and, by extension, to maintain and think.

Français maintenir, lier Wei est un caractère phonético-sémantique signifiant corde et, par extension, maintenir et penser.

Español mantener, atar Wei es un carácter fonosemántico que significa cuerda y, por extensión, mantener y pensar.

العربية يحفظ، يربط وي حرف صوتي دلالي يعني الحبل، ومنه الحفظ والتفكير.

Русский поддерживать, связывать Вэй — фоносемантический знак, означающий верёвку и, далее, поддерживать и мыслить.

Common words

维护wéi hùmaintain
思维sī wéithink

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