喂

wèi

HSK 2.0 Level 1 HSK 3.0 Level 5 Interjection Very common

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This word has multiple dictionary entries. Choose the reading or usage you want to review.

喂

wèi Interjection hey; to feed (an animal, baby, invalid etc)

喂

wéi hello (when answering the phone)

Definitions

1. hey
2. to feed (an animal, baby, invalid etc)
3. to feed

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Character focus

Stroke order

12 strokes

Word relationships

Related words

3 items

你好

nǐ hǎo

hello

Basic greeting

供给

gōng jǐ

to furnish

to provide food

招呼

zhāo hu

to call out to

Word used for greeting

Synonyms

1 item

喂养

wèi yǎng

to feed (a child, domestic animal etc)

To feed (animals or dependents)

Usage notes

Collocations

喂 (wèi) often appears in collocations like 喂奶 (wèinǎi, 'breastfeed') and 喂饭 (wèifàn, 'feed someone a meal').

Formality

When used as 'hey' on the phone, it is casual; use 你好 in formal situations.

Grammar

Guides that feature 喂

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1 guide

HSK 2.0 Level 1+ HSK 3.0 Level 1+ 5 min

喂 for “Hello?” on the Phone

Use 喂 to answer or start a phone call, and to call out “hey” to get attention.

Reading: wèi Open guide

Example Sentences

2 shown

喂，你好吗？

Hey, how are you?

喂。

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 6401432)

Sentence data courtesy of Tatoeba.org. AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 喂

喂养

wèi yǎng

to feed (a child, domestic animal etc)

to feed (an animal)

breastfeeding

to have fed one's conscience to the dogs (idiom)

to feed (a baby)

to feed (also fig.)