猥 (wěi) · lewd; obscene

Meanings

1 lewd; obscene
2 humble; lowly
3 many; numerous

Characters

猥

wěi

lewd; humble; numerous

Examples

HSK 7-9

他被指控有猥亵行为。

Tā bèi zhǐkòng yǒu wěixiè xíngwéi.

He was accused of indecent behavior.

HSK 7-9

猥琐的笑容让人感到不舒服。

Wěisuǒ de xiàoróng ràng rén gǎndào bù shūfu.

His sleazy smile made people uncomfortable.

HSK 7-9

古文中的猥字常作谦辞，意为不才。

Gǔwén zhōng de wěi zì cháng zuò qiāncí, yìwéi bùcái.

In classical writing, 猥 is often a humble self-reference meaning 'unworthy.'

Tips

usage

Modern Chinese sees 猥 mostly inside compounds: 猥亵 ('indecent / molestation'), 猥琐 ('sleazy / shabby in manner'). The classical 'humble' and 'numerous' senses are essentially literary archaisms now.

Components

radical

犭 quǎn

dog (radical form of 犬)

Dog radical on the left - the indexing radical. Originally 猥 meant the yelping bark of a dog; from that bestial sense the character drifted into 'base, lewd, vulgar' (low like an animal). The radical anchors it in the dog/animal family with 猖 (rampant), 狠 (cruel), 狡 (cunning), 狂 (mad).

phonetic

畏 wèi

fear

Right side 畏 supplies the sound (wèi to wěi with tone shift). 畏 originally depicted a fanged demon and means 'awe, dread,' which adds a faint moral coloring to the modern 'obscene' sense: the kind of thing that ought to be feared and shunned. Same phonetic seeds 喂 (feed/hello), 偎 (snuggle).