微 U+5FAE, 微 ← 徭[U+5FAD] CJK Unified Ideographs 徯 →[U+5FAF] Japanese 微 Simplified 微 Traditional 微
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.
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))
- 䉠, 黴, 徽, 徵, 鰴, 幑, 覹, 溦
- 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
trad. 微 simp. # 微 2nd round simp. 𡵉 alternative forms 㣲𢕧𢼸
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 compound (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.
“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”).
微
- tiny; small; trifling
- to decline; to deteriorate
- humble; low-ranking
- slight; gentle
- slightly; gently
- (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to not have
- 微管仲，吾其被髮左衽矣。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]微管仲，吾其被发左衽矣。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge’s versionWēi Guǎn Zhòng, wú qí pīfàzuǒrèn yǐ. [Pinyin]Without Guan Zhong, we should now be wearing our hair unbound, and the lappets of our coats buttoning on the left side.
- [from 19th c., officially from 1981 (PRC), 1985 (ROC)] micro- (SI unit prefix)
- (～母) (Chinese linguistics) the Middle Chinese initial of 微 (MC mj+j)
- (～日) (telegraphy) the fifth day of a month
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-.
微 (Southern Min)
- (mouth, eyes, etc.) to close slightly
- 看著你啊像酒醉茫茫目睭格微微 [Taiwanese Hokkien, trad. and simp.]khòaⁿ tio̍h lí-ah chhiūⁿ chiú-chùi bâng-bâng ba̍k-chiu keh bui bui [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]You look like you’re drunk with [your] hazy eyes in a squinting pattern
- a little
微
- (Zhangzhou and Taiwanese Hokkien) quietly (go somewhere)
- (Zhangzhou Hokkien) to hide quietly
- (Taiwanese Hokkien) to snatch stealthily; to secretly steal
- (Taiwanese Hokkien) to tear off; to cut off (a piece of something)
- (Taiwanese Hokkien) to peek; to steal a glance
(Jōyō kanji)
- delicate
- 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)、なかりせば (nakariseba, 微りせば)
Kanji in this term 微 びGrade: S kan’on
From Middle Chinese 微 (MC mj+j).
- (Tokyo) び [bíꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])
- IPA(key): [bʲi]
微(び) • (bi) -na (adnominal 微(び)な (bi na), adverbial 微(び)に (bi ni))
- tiny
微(び) • (bi)
- tininess, smallness
- detail
微(び) • (bi)
- tiny, small, minute
Kanji in this term 微 みGrade: S goon
From Middle Chinese 微 (MC mj+j).
- IPA(key): [mʲi]
微(み) • (mi)
- tiny, small, minute
微 (eumhun 작을 미 (jageul mi))
- hanja form? of 미 (“small, few, little, hidden”)
微 (eumhun 자질구레할 미 (jajilgurehal mi))
- hanja form? of 미 (“minor, trivial, trifling”)
微: Hán Nôm readings: vi
- chữ Hán form of vi (“micro-”)
微
- Sawndip form of feiz (“fire”)
