微
- small, minute, little;
- hidden;
Originally, it also carried the sense “to conceal, hidden.” Today it is used for both “minute” and “hidden.”
Etymology
The character combines 彳 (“to step slowly”) and 𢼸 [⿰⿳山一几攵] (“small, mi”), forming ⿲彳⿳山一几攵.
Originally, 𢼸 meant “small,” while 微 meant “to conceal.”
When 𢼸 fell out of use, 微 absorbed both meanings.
According to Shuowen Jiezi, 𢼸 was formed from 人 (“person”), 攴 (“to strike”), and 豈 (“how, kai”).
But analysis of ancient scripts shows instead that it derived from 髟 (“long hair”) combined with 攴, depicting “hitting fine strands of hair,” hence “small.”
During the Small Seal Script period, the forms of 髟 and 𢼸 diverged so much that their relation became unrecognizable.
Historical Forms:
Even after Small Seal Script, 微 did not stabilize.
In Tang-dynasty regular script, the most common form was 𢕄 [⿲彳⿳山一丩攵], not the present one.
The lower middle part was sometimes written with 耳 (“ear”) or 夕 (“evening”).
Later, Ganlu Zishu (干祿字書) standardized the inside component as 几, while Zihui (字彙) gave the variant with 儿 as the head form.
Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典) followed Zihui.
Usage in Korean
Regional Standards:
Unicode does not encode these different forms separately; distinction depends on font.
Korea: Hanzi fonts generally follow Kangxi Dictionary forms, but for 微 specifically they often adopt the 几 form. Derived characters may lack consistency across fonts. The official Supreme Court’s Table of Characters for Personal Names also prescribes the 几 form.
Mainland China: writes the inside with 几.
Hong Kong & Taiwan: write it with 儿.
Japan (Shinjitai): tends to omit the 一, simplifying into a shape like 兀. However, for characters outside the official set, there is no strict standard, so derived characters may not follow the same style.
Words that derived from 微
Alternative forms
䉠, 黴, 徽, 徵, 鰴, 幑, 覹, 溦
- 竹人山弓大 (HOUNK)
- 竹人山山大 (HOUUK)
- ⿰ 彳 𢼸 (G K)
- ⿰ 彳 𣁋 (T J V)