维 wéi to preserve
to preserve; to maintain; to hold together
怎么记住“维”: 纟 silk + 隹 short-tailed bird = to preserve. With strong silk grandpa ties the broken door of the loft where his short-tailed birds sleep, hoping it is enough to preserve it for one more year.
部件结构
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
维 = 纟 silk + 隹 short-tailed bird
- 纟 silk meaning
- 隹 short-tailed bird sound
With strong silk grandpa ties the broken door of the loft where his short-tailed birds sleep, hoping it is enough to preserve it for one more year.
How it came to be
Silk gives the meaning and the bird on the right the sound.
用法
- 维 is bound and covers two senses: to hold/preserve something together, and mathematical 'dimension.'
- 维护 wéihù and 维持 wéichí both mean 'to maintain,' but 维护 protects a state or interest (维护和平 maintain peace) while 维持 keeps something going as-is (维持秩序 maintain order, 维持生活 make ends meet).
- 维修 wéixiū is specifically repair/maintenance of machines or buildings, e.g. 维修站 (wéixiūzhàn) repair shop.
- The dimension sense shows up in 三维 sānwéi (3D), 二维码 èrwéimǎ (QR code, literally '2D code'), and 思维 sīwéi (a person's mode of thinking).