惟

A phono-semantic compound:

心 (mind / heart) — semantic component

隹 (추) — phonetic component

The presence of 心 indicates a mental or cognitive activity, while 隹 provides the pronunciation (yu).

Originally, the character conveyed the idea of directing one’s mind toward something, hence to think carefully, to reflect. From this core sense, the abstract grammatical usage later developed.

惟一 (유일) — only; sole; unique

惟獨 (유독) — only; especially

惟心 (유심) — mental focus; intention of the mind

惟念 (유념) — to keep in mind; to bear in consideration

惟恐 (유공) — fearing that (literary)

惟 is a interchangeable character with 唯.

惟 / 唯 can both mean: only, merely, just.

In many classical texts, the two are used interchangeably, though:

惟 tends to appear in more formal or archaic contexts;

唯 becomes dominant in later and vernacular usage.

In modern Chinese, its grammatical role has largely been replaced by: 只, 唯, 仅.

In Japanese, 惟 appears most often in:

- personal names

- Buddhist vocabulary

- classical or literary-style texts

In Classical Chinese, 惟 may function as:

- a verb: to think, to consider

- an adverb: only, merely

- a sentence-initial particle, often translated loosely as: now, indeed, it is that…, or sometimes left untranslated.

Example: 惟我獨尊 — “I alone am worthy of honor.”

Classical citations:

In classical literature, 惟 frequently appears at the beginning of a clause, functioning as an emphatic or explanatory particle.

《書經》 (The Book of Documents)

「惟天明命。」

“It is Heaven alone that makes its mandate clear.”

《論語》 (The Analects)

「惟仁者能好人，能惡人。」

“Only the benevolent person can truly love and truly hate others.”

《詩經》 (The Book of Songs)

「惟其有之。」

“It is only because he possesses it.”

𢛧 — an ancient variant where 心 appears below 隹