喂

wéi
#1,985 most
frequent character
hello (when answering the phone)

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

喂 pairs 口 mouth, added only to set the character apart, with 畏 wèi, to fear. So it first meant to dread. Later the same sound was borrowed for "hello" and for feeding, with no link to the shape.

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Same Characters, Different Readings

HSK 1
喂wèi
hello (interj., esp. on telephone)

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