About
韪 (wěi) is the simplified form of 韙, a phono-semantic compound. The semantic component 是 (shì) means "correct, right". The phonetic component 韦 (wéi), simplified from 韋, which originally depicted tanned leather or a guard, indicates the pronunciation but contributes nothing to the modern meaning. The character means "right, proper, correct", though it is highly literary, appearing almost exclusively in classical texts or fixed idioms like 冒天下之大不韪 (mào tiānxià zhī dà bù wěi), "to risk universal condemnation by committing a serious wrong".
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