微

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word 微. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word 微, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say 微 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word 微 you have here. The definition of the word 微 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of微, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: 徵, 徴, and 徹
微 U+5FAE, 微
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5FAE
← 徭
 		CJK Unified Ideographs 徯 →

Translingual

Japanese 微
Simplified 微
Traditional 微

Alternative forms

Note that the middle component is written as 𡵂 (⿳山一几) in simplified Chinese and Korean. In Japanese, the middle component is written as 𡵉 (⿱山兀). In traditional Chinese, the middle component is written (⿳山一儿), as found in the Kangxi dictionary.

Han character

微 (Kangxi radical 60, 彳+10, 13 strokes, cangjie input 竹人山弓大 (HOUNK) or 竹人山山大 (HOUUK), four-corner 28240, composition ⿰彳𢼸(GK) or ⿰彳𣁋(TJV))

Derived characters

References

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 370, character 12
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 10203
  • Dae Jaweon: page 696, character 15
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 837, character 10
  • Unihan data for U+5FAE

Chinese

trad. 微
simp. # 微
2nd round simp. 𡵉
alternative forms 㣲
𢕧
𢼸

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (微) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
矀 *mrɯl, *mɯl
覹 *mrɯl
黴 *mrɯl, *mɯːls
薇 *mrɯl, *mɯl
媺 *mrɯlʔ
微 *mɯl
溦 *mɯl
癓 *mɯl
徽 *hmɯl
幑 *hmɯl

In oracle bone script, it may be written as 𡵂 or 𢼸.

The former is a variant of 美 (OC *mriʔ), borrowed for sound, pictogram (象形) of a person with long hair.

The latter an ideogrammic (會意／会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mɯl) : phonetic 𡵂 (OC *mriʔ) + semantic 攵 (“hand with tool”) – splitting or combing hairs; minute. Possibly the original form of 媺 (OC *mrɯlʔ).

彳 (OC *tʰeɡ) was added to emphasize action to create the modern form.

Etymology

"not; no"
The negative root *m + 惟 (OC *ɢʷi, “to be”) (Pulleybank, 1995).
"small"
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *mwəj (“fine; delicate”) (STEDT). Cognate with Burmese မွေ့ (mwe., “delicate”).

Pronunciation 1

Rime
Character 微
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 明 (4)
Final (韻) 微 (21)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Closed
Division (等) III
Fanqie 無非切
Baxter mj+j
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/mʉi/
Pan
Wuyun 		/mʷɨi/
Shao
Rongfen 		/miuəi/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/muj/
Li
Rong 		/miuəi/
Wang
Li 		/mĭwəi/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/mwe̯i/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		wéi
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		mei4
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 微
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		wēi
Middle
Chinese 		‹ mjɨj ›
Old
Chinese 		/*məj/
English small

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. * as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 微
Reading # 1/1
No. 12801
Phonetic
component 		微
Rime
group 		微
Rime
subdivision 		1
Corresponding
MC rime 		微
Old
Chinese 		/*mɯl/

Definitions

微

  1. tiny; small; trifling
  2. to decline; to deteriorate
  3. humble; low-ranking
  4. slight; gentle
  5. slightly; gently
  6. † to not have
  7. micro- (SI unit prefix)
  8. (～母) (Chinese linguistics) the Middle Chinese initial of 微 (MC mj+j)
  9. (～日) (telegraphy) the fifth day of a month

Compounds

See also

SI prefix
Last Next
毫 (háo) 微 奈/納／奈/纳
Chinese historical small numbers
Value Character Notes
10-1 分 (fèn) Still in use. SI prefix deci-.
10-2 厘 (lí), 釐 (lí) Still in use. SI prefix centi-.
10-3 毫 (háo) Still in use. SI prefix milli-. Also 毛 (máo).
10-4 絲／丝 (sī) Rarely used today.
秒 (miǎo) Obsolete, only in ancient texts.
10-5 忽 (hū) Rarely used today.
10-6 微 (wēi) Still in use. SI prefix micro-.
10-7 纖／纤 (xiān) Obsolete.
10-8 沙 (shā) Obsolete.
10-9 塵／尘 (chén) Obsolete. 納／纳 (nà) and 奈 (nài) are used for nano-.
10-10 埃 (āi) Obsolete. In modern use, the character for angstrom (10-10 m).
10-11 渺 (miǎo) Obsolete.
10-12 漠 (mò) Obsolete. 皮 (pí) is used for SI prefix pico-.

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (微):
  • → Japanese: 微(み) (mi); 微(び) (bi)
  • → Korean: 미(微) (mi)
  • → Vietnamese: vi (微)

Pronunciation 2

Definitions

微 (Southern Min)

  1. (mouth, eyes, etc.) to close slightly
  2. a little

Compounds

Japanese

Kanji

微

(Jōyō kanji)

  1. delicate

Readings

  • Go-on: み (mi)
  • Kan-on: び (bi, Jōyō)
  • Kun: かすか (kasuka, 微か)、ちいさい (chīsai, 微さい)、わずか (wazuka)

Etymology 1

Affix

微(び) • (bi) 

  1. tiny; small; minute

Etymology 2

Affix

微(み) • (mi) 

  1. tiny; small; minute

Korean

Hanja

微 (eumhun 작을 미 (jageul mi))

  1. hanja form? of 미 (“small, few, little, hidden”)

微 (eumhun 자질구레할 미 (jajilgurehal mi))

  1. hanja form? of 미 (“minor, trivial, trifling”)

Vietnamese

Han character

微: Hán Nôm readings: vi

  1. chữ Hán form of vi (“micro-”).

Zhuang

Noun

微

  1. Sawndip form of feiz (“fire”)
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia