伟 (wěi) — (bound form) great, imposing, magnificent

Definition

Bound morpheme meaning 'great, magnificent' — almost always part of a set word like 伟大, 伟人, or 雄伟, not used alone.

bound form

greatimposingmagnificent

Easily confused

。
wěi Dà shì xíng róng yí gè rén huò shì wù fēi cháng liǎo bù qǐ.
伟大 describes a person or thing that is very extraordinary.
。
Zhè wèi wěi rén de shì jì yǐng xiǎng le zhěng zhěng yí dài rén.
This great person's deeds influenced an entire generation.
，。
Zhàn zài shān dǐng, yǎn qián de jǐng sè shí fēn xióng wěi.
Standing on the mountaintop, the scenery before us was magnificent.

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 偉; 伟 is its simplified writing.

亻韋偉

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rén

Sound part声符shēngfú

韋

韋wéi偉wěi

Same sound today

The traditional form 偉 combines 亻, a person, with 韋, which gives the sound. The simplified 伟 is a later shorthand.