微

wēi
#652 most
frequent character
tiny, miniature, slightly, profound

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

微 first meant 'to flee and hide'. 彳 half an intersection, movement is the meaning part, and 𢼸 wéi supplies the sound. From hiding came 'hidden', then 'to decline', and finally 'small, minute'.

微 as a component in other characters

sound2 characters
徽薇

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Same Characters, Different Readings

微Wei1
surname Wei

Homophones

委wēi
used in 委蛇[wei1yi2]
威wēi
power, might, prestige
危wēi
danger, to endanger, Taiwan pr. [wei2]

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