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谓

謂
wèi
verb #44,609

Meanings

  1. 1 to speak
  2. 2 to say
  3. 3 meaning

Examples

HSK 5
所谓的自由其实充满了限制。
Suǒwèi de zìyóu qíshí chōngmǎn le xiànzhì.
What is so-called freedom is in fact full of constraints.
HSK 5
你去不去对我来说都无所谓。
Nǐ qù bu qù duì wǒ láishuō dōu wúsuǒwèi.
It doesn't matter to me whether you go or not.
HSK 5
这次旅行可谓大饱眼福。
Zhè cì lǚxíng kěwèi dà bǎo yǎnfú.
This trip could truly be called a feast for the eyes.

Tips

usage
无所谓 is very common in spoken Chinese - 'I don't care / it doesn't matter'. The bare 谓 'to say' is literary; in modern Chinese it mostly survives in fixed compounds like 所谓 and 可谓.

Components

radical
讠 yán
speech (radical form of 言)
Left-side speech radical, the two-stroke side form of 言 - a stylised mouth issuing a tongue or breath. Indexes 谓 in the speaking family alongside 说 to say, 话 talk, 语 language, 论 to discuss. Carries the meaning directly: 谓 names the act of saying, calling, designating.
phonetic
胃 wèi
stomach
Right side 胃 supplies the sound directly - wèi to wèi, identical. 胃 itself shows a sack of food over the flesh radical, picturing the stomach - but that anatomy doesn't transfer. Borrowed purely as a sound match. The shared sound also links 谓 with 慰 to comfort and 卫 to guard.

Stroke Order

谓 wèi