危 meaning and stroke order
Dangerous, precarious; high
How to write 危, stroke by stroke
6 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Meaning of 危
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- danger
- to endanger
- Taiwan pr. [wei2]
How 危 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A person 㔾 at the edge of a cliff 厃; 厃 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 㔾 (seal), shared by 5 characters on this site.
How to remember 危
Look at the top part 厃 as a person standing above a cliff edge, and the bottom part 㔾 as a person crouching below it. A person 㔾 at the edge of a cliff 厃 is in a dangerous, precarious spot, which is 危 (wēi).
危 rarely appears alone in everyday speech. It usually shows up in words like 危险 (wēixiǎn, dangerous), 危机 (wēijī, crisis) and 危害 (wēihài, to harm). Example: 这里很危险。(Zhèlǐ hěn wēixiǎn.) It is dangerous here.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 危 with 色 (sè, color), since both have a hooked bottom part. Also note that 危及 (wēijí, to endanger) and 危急 (wēijí, critical) sound exactly the same, so check the second character when writing.
Common words with 危
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 危险 | wēixiǎn | danger; dangerous | HSK 3 |
| 危害 | wēihài | to harm; to jeopardize; to endanger; harmful effect; damage | HSK 3 |
| 危机 | wēijī | crisis | HSK 6 |
| 危及 | wēijí | to endanger; to jeopardize | HSK 7-9 |
| 危急 | wēijí | critical; desperate (situation) | HSK 7-9 |
| 乘人之危 | chéngrénzhīwēi | to take advantage of sb's precarious position | HSK 7-9 |
| 生命危险 | shēngmìngwēixiǎn | risk to one's life | |
| 安危 | ānwēi | safety and danger; safety | |
| 岌岌可危 | jíjíkěwēi | imminent danger (idiom); approaching a crisis | |
| 危在旦夕 | wēizàidànxī | in imminent peril (idiom); on the brink of crisis | |
| 危难 | wēinàn | calamity | |
| 经济危机 | jīngjìwēijī | economic crisis | |
| 危机四伏 | wēijīsìfú | danger lurks on every side (idiom) | |
| 病危 | bìngwēi | to be critically ill; to be terminally ill |
危 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 危
Learning 危 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 危
How many strokes are in 危?
危 is written with 6 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 危 mean?
危 (wēi) means dangerous, precarious; high. A common word with it is 危险 (wēixiǎn), meaning "danger; dangerous".
How do you pronounce 危?
危 is pronounced wēi, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 危?
The radical of 危 is 㔾, which carries the idea of "seal". Dictionaries list 危 under this radical.
Is 危 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 危 is part of the HSK 3 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
Is 危 pronounced wēi or wéi?
In mainland Mandarin it is first tone, wēi. In Taiwan many speakers say it with second tone, wéi, so you may hear both.
Does 危机 really mean danger plus opportunity?
危机 (wēijī) simply means crisis. The 机 here means a critical point or juncture, so the popular idea that it means danger plus opportunity is an overreading of the word.