Kilo Lingo

(wéi yī) - the only one, unique, sole in Mandarin

wéi

Traditional: 唯一

Line drawing of 唯一
Coloured illustration of 唯一
HSK 5
#387 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

the only one, unique, sole

Word origin

A two-character compound meaning the only or unique. 唯 (wéi) 'only' is a phono-semantic compound with the 口 'mouth' radical and 隹 (zhuī, a short-tailed bird) as phonetic, and 一 (yī) is 'one'.

Origin
compound
Root
唯 (wéi, 'only'; 口 mouth radical + 隹 phonetic) + 一 (yī, 'one')

Stroke order

Stroke order for 唯

Stroke order for 一

Examples

This is the only way.

He is the only person who knows the truth.

You are my only hope.

This is my only chance.

She is the only person who knows the answer.

唯一 (wéi yī) - the only one, unique, sole.

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This word is part of lesson 8.