畏 (wèi): to fear
畏 (wèi) is a Chinese character meaning “to fear.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 田 (structural) and 一 (structural). It ranks #2008 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 畏 a monster with a scary head 田. Its radical form 田 (field) appears in many related characters such as 电 (diàn, lightning), 男 (nán, male), 由 (yóu, to follow).
Definitions
- to fear
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA monster with a scary head 田
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 畏惧 | wèi jù | to fear |
| 敬畏 | jìng wèi | to revere |
| 畏缩 | wèi suō | to cower |
| 畏罪 | wèi zuì | to dread punishment |
| 大无畏 | dà wú wèi | utterly fearless |
| 不畏 | bù wèi | unafraid |
| 畏首畏尾 | wèi shǒu wèi wěi | afraid of the head, terrified of the tail (idiom) |
| 畏缩不前 | wèi suō bù qián | to shrink back in fear (idiom) |
| 望而生畏 | wàng ér shēng wèi | (idiom) to feel intimidated |
| 敌敌畏 | dí dí wèi | (loanword) DDVP, aka dichlorvos (an organophosphate used as an insecticide) |
| 不畏强暴 | bù wèi qiáng bào | not to submit to force (idiom) |
| 畏难 | wèi nán | to be daunted by challenges |
| 畏怯 | wèi qiè | timorous |
| 后生可畏 | hòu shēng kě wèi | the young will be redoubtable in the years to come (idiom) |
| 人言可畏 | rén yán kě wèi | gossip is a fearful thing (idiom) |
畏 appears in 27 compound words: 48 as the first character, 33 as the last, and 19 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 畏 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (10)
to be afraid of the slightest thing; ever fearful and nervous; to be full of misgivings; to be overcautious
to be afraid of the slightest thing; ever fearful and nervous; to be full of misgivings; to be overcautious
Showing 9 of 10 idioms containing 畏.
Example Sentences
我们要敬畏自然，保护环境是每个人的责任。
Wǒmen yào jìngwèi zìrán, bǎohù huánjìng shì měi gè rén de zérèn.
We should respect nature; protecting the environment is everyone's responsibility.
胆管炎|50岁男畏寒发烧当感冒 求医揭患胆管炎险丧命 医生...
dǎn guǎn yán 5 0 suì nán wèi hán fā shāo dāng gǎn mào qiú yī jiē huàn dǎn guǎn yán xiǎn sāng mìng yī shēng . . .
对谈女性无畏力量,走出自己的摩登传奇
duì tán nǚ xìng wú wèi lì liàng , zǒu chū zì jǐ de mó dēng chuán qí
世足/不畏中东战事 伊拉克仍将赴墨西哥争门票
shì zú bù wèi zhōng dōng zhàn shì yī lā kè réng jiāng fù mò xī gē zhēng mén piào
台湾灯会2灯区率先点灯 天灯升空民众不畏细雨抢拍
tái wān dēng huì 2 dēng qū lǜ xiān diǎn dēng tiān dēng shēng kōng mín zhòng bù wèi xì yǔ qiǎng pāi
Taiwan Lantern Festival 2 Lantern District took the lead in lighting up the sky lanterns and the people were not afraid of the drizzle to take pictures
天使畏惧处, 愚人敢闯入。
Tiānshǐ wèijù chǔ, yúrén gǎn chuǎngrù.
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
我们不畏惧任何困难。
Wǒmen bù wèijù rènhé kùnnan.
We're not afraid of any difficulties.
孤独的人会孤独，是因为他畏惧他人。
Gūdú de rén huì gūdú, shì yīnwèi tā wèijù tārén.
Lonely people perpetuate their own loneliness through their fear of others.
初生之犊不畏虎。
Chūshēngzhīdúbùwèihǔ.
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
Character Family
田 Radical Family — Characters sharing the field radical
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 畏 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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