唯 (wéi): only, alone, -ism (in Chinese, a prefix, often combined with a suffix such as 主義|主义 or 論|论, e.g. 唯理論|唯理论, rationalism)
唯 (wéi) is a Chinese character meaning “only.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 口 (structural) and 隹 (structural). It ranks #1093 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Definitions
- only
- alone
- -ism (in Chinese, a prefix, often combined with a suffix such as 主義|主义 or 論|论, e.g. 唯理論|唯理论, rationalism)
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 唯
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 唯有conjunction | wéi yǒu | only |
| 唯独adverb | wéi dú | only |
| 唯恐adverb | wéi kǒng | for fear that |
| 唯利是图phrase | wéi lì shì tú | (idiom) to be bent solely on profit |
| 唯唯诺诺phrase | wéi wéi nuò nuò | (idiom) to be a yes-man |
| 任人唯亲phrase | rèn rén wéi qīn | (idiom) to practice nepotism or cronyism in making appointments |
| 唯一性noun | wéi yī xìng | uniqueness |
| 唯物主义noun | wéi wù zhǔ yì | materialism, philosophical doctrine that physical matter is the whole of reality |
| 唯心论noun | wéi xīn lùn | philosophy of idealism, the doctrine that external reality is a product of consciousness |
| 任人唯贤verb | rèn rén wéi xián | to appoint people according to their merits (idiom) |
| 唯命是从phrase | wéi mìng shì cóng | to follow obediently |
| 唯心主义noun | wéi xīn zhǔ yì | philosophy of idealism, the doctrine that external reality is a product of consciousness |
| 客观唯心主义 | kè guān wéi xīn zhǔ yì | objective idealism (in Hegel's philosophy) |
| 唯象理论 | wéi xiàng lǐ lùn | phenomenology |
| 唯恐天下不乱phrase | wéi kǒng tiān xià bù luàn | to wish for the whole world to be in chaos (idiom) |
唯 appears in 32 compound words: 75 as the first character, 3 as the last, and 22 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 唯 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
to follow orders as if one's life depended on it; to do what one is told without fail
Example Sentences
他唯干舌燥地讲了两个小时，终于说服了大家。
tā wéi gān jī zào dì jiǎng le liǎng gě xiǎo shí , zhōng yú shuō fú le dà jiā .
After two hours of relentless talking, he finally managed to convince everyone.
哈米尼遇袭身亡!台股周一迎终极考验?唯一开盘市场V型反转藏玄机
hā mǐ ní yù xí shēn wáng ! tái gǔ zhōu yī yíng zhōng jí kǎo yàn ? wéi yī kāi pán shì chǎng V xíng fǎn zhuǎn zàng xuán jī
Hamini was killed in an attack! Taiwan stocks face the ultimate test on Monday? The only opening market V-shaped reversal hides the mystery
杨志良/马年唯此愿:爱与和平
yáng zhì liáng mǎ nián wéi cǐ yuàn : ài yǔ hé píng
Yang Zhiliang/The Year of the Horse only wishes: love and peace
梁靖琪43岁生日七魔女团拜带埋老公 唯独一骨干成员无影
liáng 靖 琪 4 3 suì shēng rì qī mó nǚ tuán bài dài mái lǎo gōng wéi dú yī gǔ gān chéng yuán wú yǐng
Liang Jingqi's 43rd birthday, the Seven Witches group brought her husband to bury her, but one backbone member was nowhere to be found
全国唯一官帽土地公!花坛白沙坑“百年迎灯排”3...
quán guó wéi yī guān mào tǔ dì gōng ! huā tán bái shā kēng bǎi nián yíng dēng pái 3 . . .
The only official hat land public in the country! Flower bed white sand pit "Centennial Lantern Row" 3...
今年唯一血月将在正月十五降临
jīn nián wéi yī xiě yuè jiāng zài zhèng yuè shí wǔ jiàng lín
This year's only blood month will fall on the 15th of January
人皆有错，唯圣者能恕。
Rén jiē yǒu cuò, wéi shèngzhě néng shù.
To err is human, to forgive divine.
汤姆不是唯一有钥匙的。
Tāngmǔ bù shì wéiyī yǒu yàoshi de.
Tom isn't the only one who has a key.
死是唯一的解脱吗？
Sǐ shì wéiyī de jiětuō ma?
Is death the only release?
现在我们唯一的问题是我们怎么回家？
Xiànzài wǒmen wéiyī de wèntí shì wǒmen zěnme huíjiā?
The only question now is how we're going to get home.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 唯 (wéi)?
Is 唯 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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