魏 meaning and stroke order
The kingdom of Wei; surname
How to write 魏, stroke by stroke
17 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 魏
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- tower over a palace gateway (old)
How 魏 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Ghost.
鬼 gives the meaning and 委 hints at the sound.
Radical: 鬼 (ghost), shared by 17 characters on this site.
How to remember 魏
魏 is built from 委 (wěi) on the left, which gives the sound, and 鬼 (guǐ, ghost) on the right, which gives the meaning category. Picture a towering palace gate so tall and shadowy that a ghost 鬼 seems to lurk beside it, and 委 whispers the sound wèi.
Today 魏 is used almost only as a surname and as the name of historical states, such as the Wei kingdom of the Three Kingdoms period. The old meaning of a tower over a palace gate survives mainly in classical texts. Example: 他姓魏。(Tā xìng Wèi.) His surname is Wei.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 魏 (wèi) with 巍 (wēi, towering), which adds 山 on top and has the first tone. Also do not read it with the third tone of its phonetic part 委 (wěi); 魏 is fourth tone.
魏 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 魏
How many strokes are in 魏?
魏 is written with 17 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 魏 mean?
魏 (wèi) means the kingdom of Wei; surname.
How do you pronounce 魏?
魏 is pronounced wèi, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 魏?
The radical of 魏 is 鬼, which carries the idea of "ghost". Dictionaries list 魏 under this radical.
Is 魏 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 魏 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What was the kingdom of Wei in Chinese history?
Several states were called 魏. The best known are the Warring States kingdom of Wei and the Cao Wei state (曹魏, Cáo Wèi) founded by Cao Pi in the Three Kingdoms period.
Is 魏 a common surname?
Yes, 魏 is a fairly common Chinese surname. A famous bearer is the Tang dynasty minister 魏征 (Wèi Zhēng), known for his frank advice to the emperor.