喂

餧/餵
wéi, wèi
口 + 畏
HSK 3.0Level 1

Definitions

wéi (particle) hello (when answering the phone)
wèi (particle) hey
wèi (verb) to feed

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 畏 represents the sound.

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 畏

About

喂 is a phonosemantic compound combining the mouth radical 口 (indicating actions like eating and speaking) with the phonetic component 畏 (wèi, "fear" or "awe"). Although 畏 means "fear", it serves only to supply the pronunciation and contributes no semantic element of intimidation. The character originally meant "to feed", putting food into the mouth of an animal or person, and later took on a highly common use as an interjection for greeting or attracting attention, becoming the standard "hello" when answering the phone.

Example Sentences Hide

喂，你好，请问是谁？

Wèi, nǐ hǎo, qǐng wèn shì shéi?

Hello, who is this, please?

喂，你等一下，我马上就来。

Wèi, nǐ děng yīxià, wǒ mǎshàng jiù lái.

Hey, wait a moment, I'll be right there.

你喂过阳台上的小鸟了吗？

Nǐ wèi guò yángtái shàng de xiǎo niǎo le ma?

Have you fed the little birds on the balcony?

他正在给动物园的老虎喂食。

Tā zhèngzài gěi dòngwùyuán de lǎohǔ wèi shí.

He is feeding the tigers at the zoo.

妈妈打电话来时，我总是先说“喂”。

Māmā dǎ diànhuà lái shí, wǒ zǒngshì xiān shuō “wèi”.

When mom calls, I always say "hello" first.

这位护士很有耐心地喂病人吃药。

Zhè wèi hùshi hěn yǒu nàixīn de wèi bìngrén chī yào.

This nurse very patiently fed the patient medicine.

喂养宠物需要承担很多责任。

Wèiyǎng chǒngwù xūyào chéngdān hěnduō zérèn.

Raising a pet requires taking on a lot of responsibility.

听到有人喊“喂”，他疑惑地转过头。

Tīng dào yǒu rén hǎn “wèi”, tā yíhuò de zhuǎnguò tóu.

Hearing someone shout "hey", he turned around in confusion.

Related Characters

Component: 口

中 和 可 后 如 同 只 知 高 问 向 或 加 合

Component: 畏

偎 猥 煨 隈 餵 椳 渨

Example Words

喂奶 喂养 投喂 饲喂 喂哺 喂食