衛 meaning and stroke order
To guard, to protect, to defend
How to write 衛, 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 衛
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to guard
- to protect
- to defend
- abbr. for 衛生|卫生, hygiene
- health
- abbr. for 衛生間|卫生间, toilet
How 衛 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Step.
行 gives the meaning and 韋 hints at the sound.
Radical: 行 (to go), shared by 12 characters on this site.
How to remember 衛
衛 (wèi) splits 行 (xíng, to walk, step) open and puts 韋 (wéi) in the middle. Picture guards stepping along a road on both sides, with 韋 giving the sound wéi, close to wèi.
衛 is the traditional form. Mainland China writes it 卫. It rarely stands alone and usually appears in words about protection like 保衛 (bǎowèi) and 自衛 (zìwèi), or about hygiene like 衛生 (wèishēng). Example: 請問衛生間在哪裡？ (Qǐngwèn wèishēngjiān zài nǎlǐ?) Excuse me, where is the bathroom?
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 衛 with 街 (jiē, street) and 衡 (héng, balance), which also sit inside 行. Check the middle part: only 衛 has 韋. Also, the tone is fourth, wèi, not the second tone of 韋 (wéi).
Common words with 衛
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 衛生間 | wèishēngjiān | bathroom; toilet | HSK 3 |
| 衛生 | wèishēng | hygienic; sanitary; hygiene; sanitation | HSK 3 |
| 衛星 | wèixīng | (aerospace) satellite; (astronomy) satellite; moon | HSK 5 |
| 保衛 | bǎowèi | to defend; to safeguard | HSK 5 |
| 防衛 | fángwèi | to defend; defensive | HSK 7-9 |
| 自衛 | zìwèi | to defend oneself; self-defense | HSK 7-9 |
| 捍衛 | hànwèi | to defend; to uphold; to safeguard | HSK 7-9 |
| 衛視 | wèishì | satellite TV (abbr. for 衛星電視|卫星电视[wei4 xing1 dian4 shi4]) | HSK 7-9 |
| 警衛 | jǐngwèi | to stand guard over; (security) guard | |
| 守衛 | shǒuwèi | to guard; to defend | |
| 護衛 | hùwèi | to guard; to protect | |
| 衛兵 | wèibīng | guard; bodyguard | |
| 衛隊 | wèiduì | guard (i.e. group of soldiers) | |
| 後衛 | hòuwèi | rear guard; backfield |
Questions about 衛
How many strokes are in 衛?
衛 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 衛 mean?
衛 (wèi) means to guard, to protect, to defend. A common word with it is 卫生间 (wèishēngjiān), meaning "bathroom; toilet".
How do you pronounce 衛?
衛 is pronounced wèi, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 衛?
The radical of 衛 is 行, which carries the idea of "to go". Dictionaries list 衛 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 衛?
衛 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 卫, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Why does a character meaning 'guard' appear in the word for bathroom?
衛生 (wèishēng) literally means 'guarding life', which came to mean hygiene. A 衛生間 (wèishēngjiān) is a 'hygiene room', so it means bathroom or toilet.
How is 衛 used in the word for satellite?
衛星 (wèixīng) means a 'guard star', a body that circles and accompanies a larger one. It covers both moons and man made satellites, and 衛視 (wèishì) is short for satellite TV.