慰 meaning and stroke order
To calm, to comfort, to reassure
How to write 慰, stroke by stroke
15 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 慰
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to comfort
- to console
- to reassure
How 慰 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Heart.
心 gives the meaning and 尉 hints at the sound.
Radical: 心 (heart), shared by 97 characters on this site.
How to remember 慰
慰 is built from 尉 (wèi) on top, which gives the sound, and 心 (xīn, heart) underneath, which gives the meaning. Picture someone pressing gently on a troubled heart to calm it.
慰 almost always appears inside compound words rather than alone. The most common is 安慰 (ānwèi), to comfort someone, and 欣慰 (xīnwèi), to feel gratified or relieved. Example: 她哭了，我去安慰她。(Tā kū le, wǒ qù ānwèi tā.) She cried, so I went to comfort her.
Common mistake: Learners often write 尉 alone when they mean 慰, or forget the 心 at the bottom. Remember that 尉 (wèi) is a military rank, as in 上尉 (shàngwèi, captain), while 慰 with the heart is about comfort.
Common words with 慰
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 安慰 | ānwèi | to comfort; to console | HSK 5 |
| 慰问 | wèiwèn | to express sympathy, greetings, consolation etc | HSK 5 |
| 欣慰 | xīnwèi | to be gratified | HSK 7-9 |
| 慰劳 | wèiláo | to show appreciation (by kind words, small gifts etc); to comfort | HSK 7-9 |
| 自慰 | zìwèi | to console oneself; to masturbate | |
| 慰藉 | wèijiè | to console; to comfort | |
| 抚慰 | fǔwèi | to console; to comfort | |
| 宽慰 | kuānwèi | to console; to soothe |
慰 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 慰
How many strokes are in 慰?
慰 is written with 15 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 慰 mean?
慰 (wèi) means to calm, to comfort, to reassure. A common word with it is 安慰 (ānwèi), meaning "to comfort; to console".
How do you pronounce 慰?
慰 is pronounced wèi, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 慰?
The radical of 慰 is 心, which carries the idea of "heart". Dictionaries list 慰 under this radical.
Is 慰 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 慰 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 安慰 and 欣慰?
安慰 (ānwèi) is an action: you comfort or console someone else. 欣慰 (xīnwèi) is a feeling: you feel gratified or relieved, often about someone else's progress, as in 看到你进步，我很欣慰 (I am glad to see your progress).
Is 自慰 safe to use for consoling oneself?
Be careful. Although 自慰 (zìwèi) can mean to console oneself, in modern everyday speech it usually means to masturbate. To say you comforted yourself, use 安慰自己 (ānwèi zìjǐ) instead.