How to Write 喂 (wèi) — Meaning “to feed; hello; hey”

Imagine feeding someone who looks scared: the left side is a mouth (口) and the right side 畏 looks like a frightened figure with wide eyes. When you feed them, you say '喂 (wèi) !' to get their attention. This combines both meanings in one image.

The left radical 口 should be small and placed high on the left side. The right part 畏 has a balanced structure: write the top 田 first, then the horizontal stroke, then the long diagonal stroke (㇂), and finally the two bottom strokes. A common mistake is making the 口 too large or forgetting the diagonal's downward curve.

喂 has a mouth radical on the left, while 哥 (gē, elder brother) is made of two 可 stacked. 㕡 is a rare character that usually means 'creek' and has a different right component (丩). Visually, 喂 is the only one with 口 on the left, and its right side 畏 contains 田 and a long diagonal stroke.

喂 is most commonly used as a phone greeting, like 'hello' in English. It is also used to call someone's attention (similar to 'hey'), but be careful—shouting '喂' at strangers can sound rude. As a verb, 喂 means 'to feed' animals or children, especially in the word 喂养 (wèi yǎng).

Common words containing 喂 include: 喂 (wèi) — to feed; hello; hey; 喂养 (wèi yǎng) — to feed; to raise (animals or children).