威 (wēi): power, might
威 (wēi) is a Chinese character meaning “power, might.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 戌 (structural) and 女 (structural). It ranks #622 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 威 dominating a woman 女 by force of arms 戈. Its radical form 女 (woman) appears in many related characters such as 女 (nǚ, woman), 奶 (nǎi, grandmother, milk), 她 (tā, she).
Definitions
- power, might
Etymology & Origin
ideographicDominating a woman 女 by force of arms 戈
Decomposition: ⿻戌女 (layout: overlay)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 威 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 威
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 威士忌 | wēi shì jì | whiskey (loanword) |
| 威廉 | wēi lián | William or Wilhelm (name) |
| 夏威夷 | xià wēi yí | Hawaii, US state |
| 威利 | wēi lì | Wylie (name) |
| 杜威 | dù wēi | Du Wei (1982-), Shanghai soccer star |
| 权威 | quán wēi | authority |
| 威力 | wēi lì | might |
| 威尼斯 | wēi ní sī | Venice |
| 挪威 | nuó wēi | Norway |
| 威尔逊 | wēi ěr xùn | Wilson (name) |
| 示威 | shì wēi | to demonstrate (as a protest) |
| 威尔士 | wēi ěr shì | Wales, constituent nation of UK |
| 威风 | wēi fēng | awe-inspiring bearing |
| 科威特 | kē wēi tè | Kuwait |
| 威信 | wēi xìn | prestige |
威 appears in 100 compound words: 55 as the first character, 29 as the last, and 16 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 威 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (13)
(Hong Kong, Taiwan) Wisconsin (a state in the Upper Midwest region of the United States)
(Mainland China) Wisconsin (a state in the Upper Midwest region of the United States)
(Hong Kong, Taiwan) Wisconsin (a state in the Upper Midwest region of the United States)
Showing 12 of 13 idioms containing 威.
Example Sentences
这位教练在球队中有很高的威信，队员们都很尊重他。
Zhè wèi jiàoliàn zài qiúduì zhōng yǒu hěn gāo de wēixìn, duìyuánmen dōu hěn zūnzhòng tā.
This coach has high prestige in the team; the players all respect him very much.
威科夫接受专访透露 奉川普指示会晤伊朗前王...
wēi kē fū jiē shòu zhuān fǎng tòu lù fèng chuān pǔ zhǐ shì huì wù yī lǎng qián wáng . . .
Wyckoff revealed in an exclusive interview that he was instructed by Trump to meet with the former king of Iran...
童言無忌威力強!萌娃拜年脫口「祝爺爺奶奶早生貴子」...
tóng yán 無 jì wēi lì 強 ! méng wá bài nián 脫 kǒu zhù 爺 爺 nǎi nǎi zǎo shēng 貴 zǐ . . .
Children's words carry great power! A cute toddler's New Year's greeting slips out: "Wishing Grandpa and Grandma a son soon..."
美日磋商延伸威懾 聚焦中國增強核戰力
měi rì cuō shāng yán shēn wēi 懾 jù jiāo zhōng 國 zēng 強 hé 戰 lì
U.S.-Japan Talks on Extended Deterrence Focus on China's Growing Nuclear Capabilities
...:监管缺失的商业航天活动正成为大气污染新威胁
. . . jiān guǎn quē shī de shāng yè háng tiān huó dòng zhèng chéng wéi dà qì wū rǎn xīn wēi xié
... : Unregulated commercial space activities are becoming a new threat to air pollution
也门安全部队向反政府示威者开火 造成至少12人伤亡
yě mén ān quán bù duì xiàng fǎn zhèng fǔ shì wēi zhě kāi huǒ zào chéng zhì shǎo rén shāng wáng
Yemeni security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters, resulting in at least 12 casualties.
你已经去过夏威夷了吗？
Nǐ yǐjīng qù guo Xiàwēiyí le ma?
Have you ever been to Hawaii?
你觉得这威士忌怎么样？
Nǐ juéde zhè wēishìjì zěnmeyàng?
How do you like this whisky?
您曾经去过威尼斯吗？
Nín céngjīng qù guo Wēinísī ma?
Have you ever been to Venice?
你为什么喜欢夏威夷？
Nǐ wèishénme xǐhuan Xiàwēiyí?
Why do you like Hawaii?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 威 (wēi) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 威 have?
What is the radical of 威?
What are the components of 威?
What are common words containing 威?
What characters sound the same as 威 (wēi)?
Is 威 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 威 with real-time feedback
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