How to Write 委 (wēi/wěi) — Meaning “To entrust; committee”

Picture a woman (女) standing next to a field of grain (禾), and she is "entrusted" with the harvest. The two parts together look like a woman carrying a heavy load, which reminds you of being trusted with responsibility. Alternatively, think of "Woman + Grain = Committee" — a group entrusted to manage resources.

The top part 女 must be written narrow and slightly flat, with the horizontal stroke crossing through the middle — do not make it too wide. The bottom part 禾 should start directly under the 女, with the vertical stroke aligning with the center of the top. A common mistake is to make the top too tall or to misalign the two components, making the character look unbalanced.

委 (wēi) means "to entrust" or "committee," while 奸 (jiān) means "evil" or "treacherous" and has 女 on the left with 干 (dry/do). 她 (tā) means "she" and is simply the pronoun for females. Visually, 委 has 女 on top and 禾 below; 奸 has 女 on the left and 干 on the right; 她 also has 女 on the left but with 也 on the right.

委 appears in the formal word 委托 (wěi tuō), meaning "to entrust a task or commission," often used in legal or business contexts like signing a power of attorney. Another common word is 委屈 (wěi qu), meaning "to feel wronged" — when someone feels they have been treated unfairly. The character is also used in committee names, such as 委员会 (wěi yuán huì, committee).

Common words containing 委 include: 委托 (wěi tuō) — To entrust; to commission; 委屈 (wěi qū) — To feel wronged; grievance; 委蛇 (wēi yí) — To deal with perfunctorily / To meander..