How to Write 尉 (wèi/yù) — Meaning “Military officer rank (e.g., Captain or Lieutenant)”

Picture a military officer (尉) saluting with his hand (寸) at a shrine (示) beside a fallen soldier (尸). This mnemonic combines all three components into a battlefield scene, making it easy to recall that 尉 means a junior officer like a captain or lieutenant.

Write the left part first: 尸 (3 strokes: 丿 一 丿) then 示 (5 strokes: first a horizontal, then a dot above, then left-falling, right-falling, and a small bottom dot). Finish with 寸 on the right (horizontal, vertical hook, dot). A common mistake is to write 示 without the top dot or to confuse the left part with 封's 土.

The key difference is the left side: 尉 has 尸 over 示 (corpse and altar), while 封 has 土 (earth) and 尃 has 甫 (begin). Visually, 尉 looks more complex and 'stacked' on the left. In meaning, 尉 is a military rank, 封 means 'to seal' or 'envelope', and 尃 is rare, meaning 'to distribute'.

尉 appears mainly in military terminology, such as 尉官 (wèi guān) meaning 'junior officer' (lieutenant or captain). It also survives as a surname in the compound 尉迟 (Yù chí), famously held by the Tang general Yuchi Gong. Outside these uses, 尉 is uncommon in daily conversation.

Common words containing 尉 include: 尉官 (wèi guān) — Junior officer (military); 尉迟 (yù chí) — Yuchi (a compound surname).