Meta:

  1. 为 is the 18th most frequent character.
  2. has 4 dictionary entries.
  3. appears as a character in 130 words.
  4. appears as a component in 3 characters.

Decomposition:

Once :
=> ,
Radical :
=> (power/force), (dot)
Graphical :
=> , 丿,

Pinyin & Meaning:

  1. wei2 - as (in the capacity of)/to take sth as/to act as/to serve as/to behave as/to become/to be/to do/by (in the passive voice)
  2. wei4 - because of/for/to
  3. wei2 - variant of 為|为[wei2]/as (i.e. in the capacity of)/to take sth as/to act as/to serve as/to behave as/to become/to be/to do
  4. wei4 - variant of 為|为[wei4], because of/for/to

Pronunciation Clues:

  1. There are no phonetic clues for this character.

Example Words:

High Frequency

以为 (以為)
因为 (因為)
成为 (成為)
 ()
为了 (為了)
为什么 (為什麼)

Medium Frequency

不为人知 (不為人知)
作为 (作為)
改为 (改為)
最为 (最為)
为主 (為主)
为何 (為何)
为止 (為止)
无能为力 (無能為力)
称为 (稱為)
行为 (行為)
认为 (認為)
身为 (身為)

Appears In:

also appears in:

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Meta:

  1. 什 is the 156th most frequent character.
  2. has 2 dictionary entries.
  3. appears as a character in 21 words.
  4. appears as a component in 0 characters.

Decomposition:

Once :
=> ,
Radical :
=> (human), (ten)
Graphical :
=> , , ,

Pinyin & Meaning:

  1. shi2 - ten (used in fractions, writing checks etc)/assorted/miscellaneous
  2. shen2 - what

Pronunciation Clues:

  1. Pronunciation clue for 什 (shi2): The component 十 is pronounced as 'shi2'. It has the exact same pronunciation as the character.
  2. Pronunciation clue for 什 (shen2): The component 十 is pronounced as 'shi2'. It has the same pinyin initial.
  3. Pronunciation clue for 什 (shen2): The component 亻 is pronounced as 'ren2'. It has the same pinyin final.

Example Words:

High Frequency

什么 (什麼)
为什么 (為什麼)

Medium Frequency

干什么 (幹甚麼)
没什么 (沒什麼)
什么样 (甚麼樣)

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Meta:

  1. 么 is the 63rd most frequent character.
  2. has 4 dictionary entries.
  3. appears as a character in 22 words.
  4. appears as a component in 2 characters.

Decomposition:

Once :
=> 丿,
Radical :
=> 丿 (bend), (private)
Graphical :
=> 丿, ,

Pinyin & Meaning:

  1. ma2 - exclamatory final particle
  2. ma5 - interrogative final particle
  3. me5 - suffix, used to form interrogative 甚麼|什么, what?, indefinite 這麼|这么 thus etc
  4. mo2 - tiny/insignificant

Pronunciation Clues:

  1. There are no phonetic clues for this character.

Example Words:

High Frequency

什么 (什麼)
怎么 (怎麼)
这么 (這麼)
那么 (那麼)

Medium Frequency

多么 (多麼)
怎么样 (怎麼樣)
为什么 (為什麼)

Appears In:

also appears in:
Decomposition Levels:
Level 1: Only divided once. So only two components.
Level 2: Radical Decomposition. The character gets decomposed into its lowest radical components. For the complete list visit the Radical wikipedia page.
Level 3: Graphical Decomposition. Shows all the strokes & lowest level of components that make up the character.
If you see questions marks or too many "block" characters, especially when it comes to level 3 decomposition you might need the correct font.