微 (wēi) - tiny & minute

微Tone 1

wēi ｜ 13 strokes ｜ radical:

万响

微 · wēi

tiny;

minute;

subtle;

slight;

micro-;

to decline;

to fade;

used as a prefix meaning 'micro-' or 'subtle'.

tinyminutesubtle

Usage highlights

microscopemicroorganismsubtle changeslight differencemicroeconomicsdelicate

Synonyms

  • 细— fine; thin; meticulous
  • 小— small; little
  • 纤— fine; delicate; minute

Antonyms

  • 巨— huge; gigantic
  • 大— big; large
  • 宏— great; magnificent

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The microscope reveals tiny details (显微镜).
  • There has been a slight improvement (微小的进步).
  • She gave a subtle smile (微微一笑).
  • Microeconomics studies individual markets (微观经济学).

Collocations

  • microscope(显微镜)
  • microorganism(微生物)
  • subtle change(微变)
  • slight difference(微差)
  • microeconomics(微观经济学)
  • delicate(微妙)

Idioms

  • Seeing the large from the small(见微知著)
  • Subtle and hard to detect(微乎其微)
  • Infinitesimal(微不足道)
  • Subtle and profound(微言大义)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • In Daoist philosophy, 'wei' represents the subtle, underlying essence of things, the 'almost nothing' from which all things emerge.
  • Historically used in titles of humility, such as '微臣' (your humble servant), reflecting Confucian values of modesty.
  • In modern Chinese, it frequently serves as a prefix for scientific terms (e.g., 微信 - WeChat, 微博 - microblog).

FAQ