纬 (wěi) is a Chinese character meaning “the crosswise (weft) threads in weaving, as opposed to the”. It is written from 纟 (silk; thread (left-side form)) and 韦 (wéi — tanned/softened leather; the simplified form of 韋, also used as a sound part), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “weft; latitude”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
纟 + 韦
Left–right structure
- 纟 silk; thread (left-side form) · sī meaning
- 韦 wéi — tanned/softened leather; the simplified form of 韋, also used as a sound part · wéi sound
Structure from: Unicode U+7EAC 现代字形与 hanzi-writer 笔顺数据（7 画 = 纟 3 画 + 韦 4 画）；纟 为义符，韦 wéi 与本字 wěi 同声母同韵母、仅声调不同，作声符
Memory aid
Silk threads (纟) running crosswise over a strip of tanned leather (韦) — the weft that cuts across the warp, the way latitude lines cut across a globe.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 纬度wěi dùlatitude纬 = wěi
- 经纬jīng wěiwarp and weft; longitude and latitude纬 = wěi
Go deeper
All readings
weft; latitude
the crosswise (weft) threads in weaving, as opposed to the warp; latitude, the east–west lines on a map
织物上横向的丝线，与「经」相对；也指地球表面东西方向的纬线、纬度。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 纬度wěi dùlatitude纬 = wěi
- 经纬jīng wěiwarp and weft; longitude and latitude纬 = wěi
Sound component
韦 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 纬 mean?
纬 (wěi) means the crosswise (weft) threads in weaving, as opposed to the warp; latitude, the east–west lines on a map.
How do you pronounce 纬?
It is pronounced wěi.
What parts is 纬 made of?
纟 (silk; thread (left-side form)) and 韦 (wéi — tanned/softened leather; the simplified form of 韋, also used as a sound part), side by side. The recorded source is: Unicode U+7EAC 现代字形与 hanzi-writer 笔顺数据（7 画 = 纟 3 画 + 韦 4 画）；纟 为义符，韦 wéi 与本字 wěi 同声母同韵母、仅声调不同，作声符. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 纬 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 纬?
糸. 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 纬?
Common ones are 纬度 and 经纬. The reading of 纬 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.