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四維

简四维 · 繁四維

Mandarin · pinyin sì wéi

the four social bonds: propriety, justice, integrity and honor
see 禮義廉恥 lǐ yì lián chǐ
the four directions
the four limbs (Chinese medicine)
four-dimensional

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Characters in this entry

四: sì · four
維: Look up this written character
维: wéi · maintain, preserve, safeguard

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2 · si4 wei2

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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.

四維 · find source passages ↗ · 四维 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

noun

the four social bonds (propriety, justice, integrity, and honour)
(literary) the southeastern, southwestern, northeastern and northwestern corners
(literary, by extension) the four directions; all directions

adj

(attributive) four-dimensional

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

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