It is a phono-semantic compound, composed of:


thin silk, fine thread

 (silk, thread) – semantic element, indicating weaving/textiles;


leather, tanned leather

 (wi, “tanned leather, to surround”) – phonetic element.

緯 literally denotes the weft thread in weaving, paired with 

to pass through, to undergo, warp thread (vertical thread in weaving), scripture, classic, principle

 (warp thread). From this fundamental image, it extended to mean latitude, ordering principles, and structure. In East Asian thought and language, the pairing 經緯 became a powerful metaphor for the warp and weft of society, order, and cosmic pattern.

In Korean, 위 (緯) is mainly seen in scholarly or technical contexts:
경위 (經緯) – warp and weft; also metaphorically “details, whole structure.”
위도 (緯度) – latitude (opposite of longitude 經度).
천위 (天緯) – cosmic order, heavenly pattern (literary/classical).

Characters

Words

Vocabulary

tight, taut, firm, close, urgent

scarlet silk, crimson, bright red cloth

clue, beginning, origin, thread end, state of mind

line, thread, wire, connection

silk, satin, fine woven cloth

connection, fate, relationship (esp. karmic bond), cause, edge, margi

to weave, to compile, to arrange, to organize, to edit

slow, not rapid, loose, slack, relaxed

weft thread, ordering, regulating, latitude (in geography), pattern, principle

to practice, to train, to drill, to temper

to tie, to bind, to fasten

to shrink, to shorten, to contract, to draw in, to reduce

vertical, lengthwise, to let loose, to indulge, to allow at will, to stretch, to extend, to release

all, to gather, to put together, to oversee, to sum up, to command, to supervise

weaving, spinning, to make cloth, achievement, merit, accomplishment

to flourish, to prosper, to be numerous, luxuriant, complicated, rope of a boat

to weave, to knit, banner, flag (esp. military flag)

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Chinese character

Explore 214 Chinese radicals and their derived characters. Sort by radical or stroke count, and view the complete list of official Hanja radicals.

緯

Etymology

Usage in Korean

Words that derived from 緯

Neighboring characters in the dictionary