漢字Kanji · in Action & Movement
衛: defense, protection
- 行to go(meaning)
- 韋(sound)
行 carries the meaning · 韋 gives the sound
One reading, and the words that use it
エイei · on'yomi · in compounds
- 衛星えいせいsatellite
- 衛生えいせいhealth, hygiene, sanitation
- 守衛しゅえいsecurity guard, doorkeeper
- 自衛隊じえいたいself-defense force
- 護衛術ごえいじゅつguard, convoy, escort
- 前衛的なぜんえいてきなradical, avant-garde
- 防衛するぼうえいするdefend, protect
Also read エ, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Ideogrammic compound (會意)行 (meaning) + 韋 (sound) + 帀 (meaning)
Simplified from 䘙. Ideogrammic compound (會意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲): semantic 行 + phonetic 韋 + semantic 帀.
Source: Wiktionary, 衞 (rev. 89995497), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Crossroads (行) + foot/circle (韋). Imagine guards walking around the "crossroads" in a defensive circle to "guard" and "defend" the territory.”
Connections
Also built on 韋
The 韋 family reads イ (i); 衛 is read エイ、エ.
Also read エイ
11 kanji share this on'yomiEasy to confuse
The difference, side by sideIn ChineseSimplified 卫 · traditional 衞 · wèi
Three different forms: Japanese 衛, simplified 卫, traditional 衞.
- Simplified
- 卫 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 衞 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin wèi most common reading
False friend. Chinese also has a character 衛 (wèi), but it is a different word. The Chinese for this kanji is 卫 (simplified) or 衞 (traditional).
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.