位 (wèi): polite measure word for people

Meanings

1 polite measure word for people
2 seat; position

Characters

位

wèi

measure word for people (polite); position; seat

Contains 亻 (person radical) + 立 (stand) — a person's standing/position.

Examples

这位是我的老师。

Zhè wèi shì wǒ de lǎoshī.

This is my teacher.

请问几位？

Qǐngwèn jǐ wèi?

How many people? (polite, at a restaurant)

两位客人来了。

Liǎng wèi kèrén lái le.

Two guests have arrived.

Tips

usage

位 is the respectful way to count people (instead of 个). Used for guests, elders, professionals.

mistakes

Never use 位 for yourself — it's only for others. Saying 我是一位学生 sounds odd.

Components

radical

亻 rén

person (left-side form of 人)

Left person radical — the indexing component, marking 位 as a person-related noun. Originally 位 named the spot where a particular person stood at court, hence its modern senses of seat, position, and the polite measure word for individuals. 亻 anchors the human-status family: 你 (you), 他 (he), 仕 (serve).

semantic

立 lì

to stand

Right 立 — to stand. 亻 + 立 = a person standing in their place, the precise image of holding a position or occupying a seat. Compound ideograph reading; the polite measure word usage flows naturally from the picture of someone standing in their proper rank.