wéi
verb #13,204

Meanings

  1. 1 to violate
  2. 2 to disobey
  3. 3 to go against

Examples

HSK 4
Wéifǎn
to violate; to go against
HSK 4
Wéifǎ
to break the law; illegal

Tips

memory
movement + - moving away from the proper path.

Components

radical
chuò
walk; go
is the motion radical in its bottom-left walking form. It marks as an action of going - but here, going against, deviating, walking in the wrong direction. Sister verbs , 退, share the radical and the moving-feet signal.
phonetic
wéi
tanned leather; depart
(wéi) supplies the sound exactly - identical reading. Originally pictured two feet walking away from a town in opposite directions, so it also carries a faint go-against flavour that reinforces 's meaning of disobeying or violating. Powers (surround), (great), (latitude).

Stroke Order

wéi