唯
Meanings · wai2
- a sound similar to saying 'yes' in agreement
Meanings · wai5
- a sound similar to saying 'yes' in agreement
Meanings · wai4
- -ism
- only
- alone
- unique
About these definitions
Source definition segments, in their original order. Characters a definition cites are shown without their Mandarin pinyin; classifier lists that CC-Canto copied from CC-CEDICT are marked Mandarin. The community dictionary is not independently verified by zimai.
Reading & tones
Schematic citation-tone diagrams from the source numbers. These are not recordings or predictions of connected speech.
Tone difference from Unihan
- 唯 is read wai2 here; Unihan’s citation reading is wai4. Same syllable, different tone across these source readings. CC-Canto also lists 唯 wai2 as its own entry.
Computed by zimai: each syllable of the CC-Canto word reading is compared with Unihan 17.0.0 kCantonese for its character. The comparison does not say why a reading differs (a changed tone, 變音, a reading tied to one meaning, or a source variant).
Same syllable, six tones
Characters whose customary Unihan reading (kCantonese) is this syllable in each tone, chosen as in the tone atlas (2013 standard level, then the number of CC-CEDICT words they form), with CC-Canto 2017's meaning for that reading; a dash means no catalogue character has that reading. Checked syllables (-p, -t, -k) normally carry tones 1, 3 and 6. Character readings, not word readings; no frequency implied.
Written characters
Both source spellings are represented. Written membership is not an etymological or semantic claim.
Mandarin comparison · separate source entries
CC-CEDICT, the Mandarin–English dictionary, lists the same written form:
- 唯 wéi CC-CEDICT · Mandarinonly; alone; -ism (in Chinese, a prefix, often combined with a suffix such as 主義 zhǔ yì or 論 lùn, e.g. 唯理論 wéi lǐ lùn, rationalism)
- 唯 wěi CC-CEDICT · Mandarinyes
A separate source entry, shown for comparison. The same characters can carry different senses in Mandarin and in Cantonese; zimai does not align these senses.
CC-Canto includes this pinyin reference: wei2. It does not establish a Mandarin word with the same meaning.
Look up this spelling in the Mandarin dictionary ↗Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
wai2 · wai4 · wai5
Cantonese word readings for 唯. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
character
- (alt. form 維／维, 惟) to be
- (alt. form 維／维, 惟) An introductory particle marking noun phrases as the topic
- (alt. form 惟) only; alone
- (literary) because
- although
- (literary) to allow (often used with 所)
- Particle for expressing one's wish.
- (alt. form 維／维, 惟) Meaningless sentence-initial particle.
character
- (obsolete) A polite particle used to respond to elders: yes
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack