位 (wèi) is a Chinese character meaning “position”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 立 (to stand; upright), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “position; place”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 立
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 位，列中庭之左右謂之位。从人立
Memory aid
A person (亻) standing (立) on the spot assigned to them — that spot is their position.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 座位zuò wèiseat位 = wèi
- 岗位gǎng wèipost; job position位 = wèi
- 穴位xué wèiacupuncture point位 = wèi
- 舱位cāng wèiberth; seat or space (on a ship or plane)位 = wèi
- 诸位zhū wèieveryone; ladies and gentlemen (polite form of address)位 = wèi
Go deeper
All readings
position; place
position; place; seat; rank; also a polite measure word for people
所在的地方或职位；也用作敬称人的量词。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 座位zuò wèiseat位 = wèi
- 岗位gǎng wèipost; job position位 = wèi
- 穴位xué wèiacupuncture point位 = wèi
- 舱位cāng wèiberth; seat or space (on a ship or plane)位 = wèi
- 诸位zhū wèieveryone; ladies and gentlemen (polite form of address)位 = wèi
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 位 mean?
位 (wèi) means position; place; seat; rank; also a polite measure word for people.
How do you pronounce 位?
It is pronounced wèi.
What parts is 位 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 立 (to stand; upright), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 位，列中庭之左右謂之位。从人立. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 位 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 位?
人. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 位?
Common ones are 座位 and 岗位. The reading of 位 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.