尉 (wèi) is a Chinese character meaning “military officer rank (as in captain, lieutenant)”. It is written from 𫵖 (尸 wrapping 示 (left-side component of 尉 and 慰)) and 寸 (cun; inch), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “military officer”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
𫵖 + 寸
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS ⿰𫵖寸（Unicode 表意文字描述序列），与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数 8+3=11 核验一致。仅描述现代字形，未作义音主张
Memory aid
On the left, the tall 𫵖 block stands like a guard under a roof; on the right, 寸 — a hand measuring an inch. An officer keeps every inch in order.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 上尉shàng wèicaptain (military rank)尉 = wèi
- 中尉zhōng wèilieutenant (military rank)尉 = wèi
Go deeper
All readings
military officer
military officer rank (as in captain, lieutenant); an old official title
军衔名，如上尉、中尉；古代官名。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 上尉shàng wèicaptain (military rank)尉 = wèi
- 中尉zhōng wèilieutenant (military rank)尉 = wèi
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 尉 mean?
尉 (wèi) means military officer rank (as in captain, lieutenant); an old official title.
How do you pronounce 尉?
It is pronounced wèi.
What parts is 尉 made of?
𫵖 (尸 wrapping 示 (left-side component of 尉 and 慰)) and 寸 (cun; inch), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS ⿰𫵖寸（Unicode 表意文字描述序列），与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数 8+3=11 核验一致。仅描述现代字形，未作义音主张. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 尉 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 尉?
寸. 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 尉?
Common ones are 上尉 and 中尉. The reading of 尉 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.