委 (wěi) is a Chinese character meaning “to entrust”. It is written from 禾 (grain; standing grain) and 女 (woman; female), one above the other, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to entrust”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
禾 + 女
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字（委：委随也。从女从禾）
Memory aid
Ripe grain (禾) bends its head at the top, and a woman (女) bends below it. Both parts are really in this character — a bow of acceptance: the job is handed over to her.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 委员wěi yuáncommittee member委 = wěiHSK 5
- 委托wěi tuōto entrust; to commission委 = wěiHSK 5
- 委婉wěi wǎntactful; indirect; gentle (of speech)委 = wěispoken aswéi wǎn
Go deeper
All readings
to entrust
to entrust; to appoint; to hand over a task to someone
把事情交给别人办理；任命、派任。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 委员wěi yuáncommittee member委 = wěiHSK 5
- 委托wěi tuōto entrust; to commission委 = wěiHSK 5
- 委婉wěi wǎntactful; indirect; gentle (of speech)委 = wěispoken aswéi wǎn
Rare readings, not taught: wēi
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 委 mean?
委 (wěi) means to entrust; to appoint; to hand over a task to someone.
How do you pronounce 委?
It is pronounced wěi.
What parts is 委 made of?
禾 (grain; standing grain) and 女 (woman; female), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字（委：委随也。从女从禾）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 委 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 委?
女. 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 委?
Common ones are 委员 and 委托. The reading of 委 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.