尾 (wěi) is a Chinese character meaning “tail”. It is written from 尸 (corpse) and 毛 (hair; fur; feather), one enclosing the other, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “tail”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
尸 + 毛
Enclosing structure
Structure from: 说文解字：尾，微也。从到毛在尸後
Memory aid
A body (尸) with a tuft of hair (毛) tucked under its back end. Both parts are really in this character — hair at the back of the body is a tail.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 尾巴wěi batail尾 = wěi
- 结尾jié wěiending; conclusion尾 = wěi
Go deeper
All readings
tail
tail; the end or last part of something
动物身体末端伸出的部分；也指事物的末端、最后的部分。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 尾巴wěi batail尾 = wěi
- 结尾jié wěiending; conclusion尾 = wěi
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 尾 mean?
尾 (wěi) means tail; the end or last part of something.
How do you pronounce 尾?
It is pronounced wěi.
What parts is 尾 made of?
尸 (corpse) and 毛 (hair; fur; feather), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字：尾，微也。从到毛在尸後. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 尾 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 尾?
尸. 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 尾?
Common ones are 尾巴 and 结尾. The reading of 尾 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.