位 (wèi) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

位

wèi[wei4]Tone 4

position, place, classifier for people

HSK 2

Guru Deep Dive

English · position, place, classifier for people

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:7

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (亻) should be slender and compact, leaving ample space for the right component (立) to stand tall and stable.

1. Meaning

position, location, or place

seatclassifier for people (honorific)classifier for binary bitspotential in physics

Noun and ClassifierNeutral#space#grammar#society#computing

Sample Usage

请问您是哪位？
qǐng wèn nín shì nǎ wèi?
Excuse me, which person are you?
他在公司里很有地位。
tā zài gōng sī lǐ hěn yǒu dì wèi.
He has a very high position in the company.

2. Sound

/[weɪ̯⁵¹]/Tone: 51

位

wèiwei4

`(51)

=wèi

Initial Consonant

Type: Labio-Velar Glide (Zero Initial)

Sounds like: w sound as in water

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Round lips tightly before gliding into vowel.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Lips rounded, tongue relaxed at the bottom of the mouth.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -e vowel group

Sounds like: -ei rhymes with 'hey' or 'day'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ay'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and drops sharply like a command or an abrupt 'No!'

👂

Listening trap: Confusing it with Tone 3 (wěi) or Tone 1 (wēi). Make sure the pitch starts high and falls firmly to the bottom.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A decisive chopping motion downward, matching the abrupt drop of Tone 4.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 7 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (亻) should be slender and compact, leaving ample space for the right component (立) to stand tall and stable.

4. Components

Radical 亻 · person radical (human being)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 亻 (indicates human connection, especially regarding people's status or identity)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 立 (original sound: li)

A person (亻) standing (立) firmly in their designated spot or rank.

亻 standing person
立 to stand

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 位 (wèi)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from 亻 (person) and 立 (to stand), originally depicting a person standing in a specific place or rank.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from a physical standing place to social status, official positions, and eventually as a polite counter for human beings.

Used in ancient times to designate official court ranks.
The classifier usage arose from treating people with respect by referring to their designated seat or standing position.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A person (亻) standing (立) proudly at their assigned position and seat.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

位

wèipositionBase character with person radical.

拉

lāto pullUses hand radical (扌) instead of person radical.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

立(lì)

立 means 'to stand' by itself, while 位 adds the person radical (亻) to mean a person's standing position or seat.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这间会议室里有很多___。

Clue: zhè jiān huì yì shì lǐ yǒu hěn duō wèi.

Common Learner Pitfall

Using 位 as a regular counter for objects or animals instead of exclusively for people in polite contexts.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 位 mean when used as a polite measure word in '三位客人'?

Production: How do you write the character for 'position/seat' (wèi) using the person radical and the 'to stand' component?

位wèiposition, place, classifier for people

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