纬 (wěi): latitude

Meanings

1 latitude
2 weft (horizontal threads in weaving)
3 woof

Characters

纬

wěi

weft, latitude

Examples

HSK 4

北京位于北纬四十度附近。

Běijīng wèiyú běiwěi sìshí dù fùjìn.

Beijing is located near 40 degrees north latitude.

HSK 7-9

经纬交织，才能成布。

Jīngwěi jiāozhī, cáinéng chéng bù.

Only when warp and weft interweave can you make cloth.

Tips

memory

The 纟 (silk) radical reveals the original meaning: the horizontal thread on a loom. Pair it with 经 (jīng, warp / longitude) - together 经纬 means both 'warp and weft' and 'longitude and latitude'.

usage

Common compounds: 纬度 (latitude), 北纬/南纬 (north/south latitude), 经纬 (warp and weft; also figurative for principles or affairs of state).

Components

radical

纟 sī

silk (radical form of 糸)

Simplified silk radical on the left - compressed three-stroke form of 糸 heading the textile family (线 thread, 红 red dye, 绿 green dye, 织 weave). Marks 纬 as a weaving term: the weft is the horizontal thread crossing the vertical warp, a fundamentally silk-and-loom technology.

phonetic

韦 wéi

soft leather; opposing feet (here phonetic)

Right 韦 supplies the sound - wéi to wěi, only a tone change. The traditional 韋 pictured two feet pointing opposite ways around an enclosure, an image of contrary motion that suits the weft: the shuttle goes back and forth, opposite to the warp's vertical run. Same phonetic feeds 围 (surround), 伟 (great).