wěi 委 V entrust
wěiqū 委屈 V feel wronged, nurse a grievance
wěituō 委托 [comp: 委 entrust + 托 entrust] V entrust, delegate ■ 公司委托律师正式回答用户的投
诉。Gōngsī wěituō lǜshī zhèngshì huídá yònghù de tóusù. The company has entrusted its lawyer
with a formal reply to the consumers’ complaint.
wěiyuán 委员 N member of a committee
wěiyuánhuì 委员会 N committee (个 gè) ■ 这个 委员会的任务是制定教育政策。Zhège wěiyuánhuì
de rènwù shì zhìdìng jiàoyù zhèngcè. This committee’s mission is to set policies on education.
wèi 卫 TRAD 衛 V defend, protect
wèishēng 卫生 [v+obj: 卫 defend + 生 life] N hygiene, sanitation ■ 保持个人卫生和公共卫生， 有利
于人民的身体健康。Bǎochí gèrén wèishēng hé gōnggòng wèishēng, yǒulì yú rénmín de shēntǐ
jiànkāng. Maintaining good personal hygiene and public sanitation is beneficial to people’s
health. 个人卫生 gèrén wèishēng hygiene, personal hygiene / 公共卫生 gōnggòng wèishēng sanitation, public
sanitation / 环境卫生 huánjìng wèishēng environmental sanitation
wèishēngjiān 卫生间 N bathroom, washroom, toilet
wèishēngjú 卫生局 N Bureau of Public Health, Health Department, wèixīng 卫星 [modif: 卫 encircling +
星 star] N satellite ■ 月球是地球的卫星。Yuèqiú shì dìqiú de wèixīng. The moon is a satellite of
the earth. 人造卫星 rénzào wèixīng man-made satellite
wèi 为 TRAD 為 PREP (do, work) for the benefit of ■ 我为人人，人人为我。Wǒ wèi rénrén, rénrén wèi
wǒ. I work for everybody else as everybody else works for me. (→ One for all and all for one.)
wèile 为了 V & PREP for the purpose of ■ 他这样 辛辛苦苦地工作，都是为了孩子。Tā zhèyàng xīn-
xīn-kǔ-kǔ de gōngzuò, dōu shì wèile háizi. He works so hard, all for his children. ■ 为了健康，
他不吸烟不喝酒，每天锻炼身体。Wèile jiànkāng, tā bù xīyān bù hē jiǔ, měi tiān duànliàn
shēntǐ. In order to keep fit he does not smoke or drink, and exercises every day.
NOTE: Both 为 wèi and 为了 wèile can be used as prepositions and have similar meanings, but 为了 wèile is
more commonly used in everyday Chinese.wèishénme 为什么 [v+obj: 为 for + 什么 what] ADV why, what for ■ 你昨天为什么没有来上 课？Nǐ
zuótiān wèishénme méiyǒu lái shàngkè? Why didn’t you come to school yesterday?
wèi 未 ADJ have not, did not ■ 该生未经批准不来 上课，将受处分。Gāishēng wèi jīng pīzhǔn bù lái
shàngkè, jiāng shòu chǔfèn. This student was absent from class without permission and will be
disciplined.
NOTE: 未 wèi is only used in rather formal, written styles. In everyday Chinese, 没有 méiyǒu is used
instead.
wèibì 未必 ADV not necessarily, may not
wèilái 未来 N future ■ 少年儿童是国家的未 来。Shàonián értóng shì guójiā de wèilái. Teenagers and
children are the future of a nation. ■ 我们 对未来有信心。Wǒmen duì wèilái yǒu xìnxīn. We have
confidence in the future.
wèimiǎn 未免 ADV rather, a bit too
wèi 位¹ MEASURE WORD (a polite measure word used with people) 一位老师 yí wèi lǎoshī a teacher ■ 那位先
生是谁？ Nà wèi xiānsheng shì shuí? Who is that gentleman?
wèi 位² N place, location
wèiyú 位于 V be located in, be situated
wèizhi 位置 [comp: 位 seat + 置 locate] N 1 place, location ■ 没有人能确定沉船的位置。Méiyǒu rén
néng quèdìng chénchuán de wèizhi. Nobody can determine the location of the sunken ship. 2
(abstract) position, post ■ 人力资源经理是公司 里一个极其重要的位置。Rénlì zīyuán jīnglǐ shì
gōngsī li yí ge jīqí zhòngyào de wèizhi. The human resources manager holds an extremely