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威

Mandarin · pinyin wēi

power
might
prestige

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威: wēi · pomp, power; powerful; dominate

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1 · wei1

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 8 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

wai1

Cantonese word readings for 威. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

pomp
power
powerful
to dominate; to display power
(Cantonese) imposing; awe-inspiring
(Cantonese) to be imposing; to be awe-inspiring
a surname

character · Etymology 2

(Hokkien) alternative form of 揻 (ui, “to prick; to poke; to bore”)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack