违 (wéi): to disobey, to violate, to separate
违 (wéi) is a Chinese character meaning “to disobey.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 辶 (semantic) and 韦 (phonetic). It ranks #1180 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 违 walk. Its radical form 辶 (walk) appears in many related characters such as 边 (biān, side), 过 (guò, to pass, past), 还 (hái, still, return).
Definitions
- to disobey
- to violate
- to separate
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 违 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 违
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 违反verb | wéi fǎn | to violate (a law) | 5 |
| 违法verb | wéi fǎ | illegal | 5 |
| 违规verb | wéi guī | to violate the rules | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 违背verb | wéi bèi | to go against |
| 违抗verb | wéi kàng | to disobey |
| 违章verb | wéi zhāng | to break the rules |
| 事与愿违phrase | shì yǔ yuàn wéi | things turn out contrary to the way one wishes (idiom) |
| 违禁verb | wéi jìn | to violate a prohibition or ban |
| 违约verb | wéi yuē | to break a promise |
| 违禁品noun | wéi jìn pǐn | prohibited goods |
| 久违verb | jiǔ wéi | (haven't done sth) for a long time |
| 违心verb | wéi xīn | false |
| 违纪verb | wéi jì | lack of discipline |
| 违例verb | wéi lì | to break the rules |
| 违犯verb | wéi fàn | to violate |
| 违宪verb | wéi xiàn | unconstitutional |
| 违约金noun | wéi yuē jīn | penalty (fee) |
| 违法乱纪phrase | wéi fǎ luàn jì | (lit.) to break the law and violate the rules (idiom) |
违 appears in 55 compound words: 78 as the first character, 13 as the last, and 9 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 违 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (10)
to disobey one's benefactor; to violate debts of gratitude; to repay good with evil
to renounce profit and seek fame (idiom); to abandon greed for reputation; to choose fame over fortune
to defy the times and reject custom (idiom); in breach of current conventions
to defy the times and reject custom (idiom); in breach of current conventions
Example Sentences
这个违字在古汉语中有不同的含义。
zhè gě wéi zì zài gǔ hàn yǔ zhōng yǒu bù tóng de hán yì .
The character "违" carries different meanings in classical Chinese.
会财局:去年违规不算太多 强调监管质素要有底线
huì cái jú : qù nián wéi guī bù suàn tài duō qiáng diào jiān guǎn zhì sù yāo yǒu de xiàn
Bureau of Finance and Finance: There were not too many violations last year, emphasizing that there should be a bottom line for regulatory quality
...要突破;美最高法院裁定特朗普政府关税政策违法
. . . yāo tū pò ; měi zuì gāo fǎ yuàn cái dìng tè lǎng pǔ zhèng fǔ guān shuì zhèng cè wéi fǎ
... to break through; The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration's tariff policy was illegal
美国海关明起停止征收违法关税,特朗普还有哪些替代方案?
měi guó hǎi guān míng qǐ tíng zhǐ zhēng shōu wéi fǎ guān shuì , tè lǎng pǔ hái yǒu nǎ xiē tì dài fāng àn ?
U.S. Customs will stop imposing illegal tariffs tomorrow, what alternatives does Trump have?
川普关税被判违法...南华早报:3月川习会 华府筹码更...
chuān pǔ guān shuì bèi pàn wéi fǎ . . . nán huá zǎo bào : 3 yuè chuān xí huì huá fǔ chóu mǎ gēng . . .
Trump tariffs found illegal... South China Morning Post: March Sichuan-Xi meeting Washington's chips are more...
川普对等关税被裁定违宪 分析师:企业促退税需多年诉讼
chuān pǔ duì děng guān shuì bèi cái dìng wéi xiàn fēn xī shī : qǐ yè cù tuì shuì xū duō nián sù sòng
Trump's reciprocal tariffs were ruled unconstitutional Analyst: Companies need years of litigation to promote tax refunds
携带武器是违法的。
Xiédài wǔqì shì wéifǎ de.
It's against the law to carry weapons.
汤姆一向违反知识产权。
Tāngmǔ yīxiàng wéifǎn zhīshichǎnquán.
Tom always violates copyright laws.
你知道这是违法的，对吧？
Nǐ zhīdào zhè shì wéifǎ de, duì ba?
You know this is illegal, don't you?
子瑞做的事违法吗？
Zǐ ruì zuò de shì wéifǎ ma?
Was what Ziri was doing illegal?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 辶 (walk) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 违 (wéi) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 违 and 讳?
How many strokes does 违 have?
What is the radical of 违?
What are the components of 违?
What are common words containing 违?
What characters sound the same as 违 (wéi)?
Is 违 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 违 with real-time feedback
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