韦 (wéi) — (bound form) leather; (surname) Wei
Definition
A bound form used almost exclusively as a surname (韦) today. In classical Chinese it also meant 'leather' (giving radicals/characters like 韦编三绝 'binding worn out three times'), but modern learners will mostly see it as a surname.
bound form
leather(surname) Wei
Examples
- 韦，。Tā xìng wéi, shì wǒ men bān de bān zhǎng.His surname is Wei; he is our class monitor.
- 《》，韦。Kǒng zǐ dú 《yì》, wéi biān sān jué.Confucius read the Book of Changes, wearing out the leather binding three times.
- 韦。wéi Biān sān jué zhè ge chéng yǔ xíng róng xué xí fēi cháng qín fèn.The idiom 'Wei bian san jue' describes extremely diligent study.
Origin
Compound ideograph六书liùshū
会意huìyìTwo or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.
This origin belongs to the traditional form 韋; 韦 is its simplified writing.
- 舛舛chuǎn
- 囗囗wéi
The traditional form 韋 pairs 舛, footsteps, with 囗, an enclosure, to show feet moving around an enclosure; the simplified 韦 is a shorthand.
Appears in
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