Traditional: 餵
wèi HSK 1

English Meaning

📚 Example Sentences

喂,你好。
Wèi, nǐ hǎo.
Hello, how are you?
喂,是我。
Wèi, shì wǒ.
Hello, it's me.
喂,你在吗?
Wèi, nǐ zài ma?
Hello, are you there?
喂,你能帮我一下吗?
Wèi, nǐ néng bāng wǒ yīxià ma?
Hey, can you help me with this?
喂,家里有人吗?
Wèi, jiālǐ yǒu rén ma?
Hello, is anyone home?

💡 Memory Tip

Think of 喂 as the 'wave' of sound—it's like waving your voice to get attention. For the phone pronunciation 'wéi', imagine saying 'way' to find your way into a conversation. The character looks like a mouth (口) next to a person (韦), hinting at calling out to someone.

📝 Usage Notes

This word is informal and almost exclusively used in spoken Chinese. It is common in casual conversations to call out to someone (e.g., '喂,等一下!' meaning 'Hey, wait!') and is the standard way to answer a phone call in Chinese-speaking regions. Avoid using it in formal writing or polite situations where more specific greetings are preferred.

📖 Grammar Points

As an interjection, 喂 typically stands alone at the beginning of a sentence to initiate speech. In phone conversations, it can be followed by questions or statements, e.g., '喂,你是谁?' (Hello, who is this?). No complex grammar structures are involved.

🏯 Cultural Notes

In Chinese culture, answering the phone with '喂' (wéi) is the norm and considered polite enough for casual calls. However, in very formal or business settings, people might add '你好' after '喂' for extra politeness. It's also used to check if someone is listening, especially in noisy environments.

🔄 Similar Words

Similar words include 你好 (nǐ hǎo, a formal greeting meaning 'hello') and 嘿 (hēi, a casual 'hey'). 喂 differs as it is more abrupt and often used to grab attention or answer calls, whereas 你好 is polite and general, and 嘿 is casual but less common in phone contexts.

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