Taxonomy of meanings for 微:　　

  • wēi (OC: mɯl MC: mʷɨi) 無非切 平 廣韻：【妙也細也少也説文曰隱行也無非切八 】
    • TENUOUS
      • nabsubjectsubtle motives; subtle beginnings of things; subtle points
      • vadNfigurativesubtle, having a light touch, subtle and profound; BUDDH: of subtle significance for salvation
      • vadNmathematical termCHEMLA 2003:
      • vadVsubtly, without drawing attention to what one is doing
      • vibe subtle, neither non-existent and ineffectual nor palpable and perceivable
      • vpostadVsubtly, with small movements
      • v[adN]figurativeliterary: what is sublime; the effect of the sublimeCH
      • vifigurativebe subtleCH
      • size> SMALL
        • nsubject=nonrefwhat is tiny > the small, tiny
        • vadNsmall (paths); fine (dust etc)slight; tiny
        • vibe a miniature replica; be of reduced proportions
        • causative> CONCEAL
          • vtoNrare: hide the whereabouts (of a person)
          • vtoNmiddle voicehidden, imperceptible
          • vimiddle voiceof light: be faint as if half-concealed
          • vt[adN]middlevoicehidden, imperceptible thing(s)LZ
          • psychological> PRETEND
            • vt+V[0]pretend to V; dissimulate
          • concealed> DARK
            • vifaded, darkish; inconspicuous
            • abstract> PROFOUND
              • vadNsubtle and profound 微言 "subtle/profound pronouncements"
              • vtoNputativeconsider as and treat as subtle and profoundCH
              • nabsubtlety and profundityLZ
          • conceptual> ABSTRACT
            • vadNbe subtle to the point where the concrete reference to reality or to one's meaning is absent
            • passive: concealed> SECRET
              • nabactsecret practices (SHUOWEN)
              • vadNhidden subtle
              • vadVindirectly, covertly, without being discovered; secretly
              • vibe secret, covert > be not easily accessible
              • look secretly> PEEP
                • vtoN
      • dynamic> WEAK
        • vibe weak in energy: gentle, wispy
        • vadNweak in colour, faded
        • process> DECLINE
          • vichangebe in decline
        • grammaticalised: it is not that> NOT
          • vt+SIt is not that S
          • without> LACK
            • vtoN.adVwithout
            • vtoN.adSif N had not been there, then SCH
            • grammaticalised:conditional> IF NOT
              • padS1.adS2if not, had it not been for the fact that
              • vt0+Nab{S1}.adS2Had it not been for S
              • vt0oN.adScopulabut for; if not; had it not been for; apart from
              • restrictive:but not> EXCEPT
                • vtoS1.adS2except for the case of SCH
        • proper names> STATES
          • npr1. small early Shang state in Shanxi; 2. Zhou state in Sichuan;
      • social> HUMBLE
        • v[adN]nonreferentialperson of noble rank
        • vibe of low rank; have low prospects
        • vipsychbe unassuming, be humble
        • specific> POOR
          • vibe poor; be of humble origins
          • social> HUMBLE
            • v[adN]nonreferentialperson of noble rank
            • vibe of low rank; have low prospects
            • vipsychbe unassuming, be humble
            • abstract> ORDINARY
              • viinsignificant
              • grammaticalised:degree> SLIGHTLY
                • vadVjust slightly
      • abstract> UNIMPORTANT
        • vadNunimportant, insiginificant
        • vibe of slight substance
        • vifigurativeof slight importance or weight;
        • vifutureface slim prospects
        • vtoNattitudinaltreat as unimportant, deemphasise
        • putative> DESPISE
          • vtoNlook down upon as being of no significance whatsoever
          • attitudinal> NEGLECT
            • vtoNneglect, disregard; suppress

    Additional information about 微

    說文解字:

      Criteria
    • PRETEND

      1. The current general word for pretending to be what one is not is yáng 佯 (ant.* zhēn xiàng 真相 "real shape").

      2. Wěi 偽 (ant. zhēn 真 "genuine") refers to the deliberate production of something artificial, and by extension the word comes to mean "pretend".

      3. Shì 飾 (ant. pǔ 樸 "basic and genuine, unadorned") refers to ostentatious pretence.

      4. Wū 誣 (ant. xìn 信 "trusty") emphaises the fraudulent aspect of pretense.

      5. Wēi fú 微服 and wēi xíng 微行 refer specifically to a notorious person going out and pretending to be an ordinary citizen of some kind or another.

      6. Jiǎ 假 (ant. zhēn 真 "genuine") is rare in pre-Buddhist times and refers to pretending to do something.

    • IF NOT

      1. The specific word for "except for" is wēi 微.

      2. Fēi 非 is used for wēi 微 when the main predicate is negated.

    • TENUOUS

      1. The most current word for what is literally insubstantial and slight is xì 細.

      2. Wēi 微 refers to subtlety predominantly in transferred figurative senses.

      3. Báo 薄 (ant. hòu 厚 "substantial") refers to anything thin or slight.

    • UNIMPORTANT

      1. The current general term for unimportance is qīng 輕 (ant. zhòng 重 "important").

      2. Mò 末 (ant. běn 本 "basic and important")) refers to something being marginal as opposed to other things that are central or crucial.

      3. Xì 細 (ant. jù 巨 "of tremendous importance") and wēi 微 (ant. dà 大 "of great importance") refer to things being trifling and without serious impact on a situation.

      4. Huǎn 緩 (ant. jí 急 "urgent and important") refers to something being less important because it is less urgent.

      5. Xiǎo 小 (ant. dà 大 "of great importance") is sometimes used as a colourless term denying the importance of something.

    • BIG

      [[COMMON/RARE]]

      [ELEVATED/FAMILIAR]

      [+FIG/LITERAL]

      [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

      [HIGH-DEGREE/LOW-DEGREE]

      [HORIZONTAL/VERTICAL]

      1. The general word is dà 大 (ant. xiǎo 小 "small").

      [GENERAL]; [[COMMON]]

      2. Jù 巨 "huge" (ant. xì 細 "slight") indicates a higher degree of size.

      [HIGH-DEGREE+], [LITERAL], [VERTICAL]

      3. Kuí 魁 and páng 龐 (ant. wēi 微 "small and slight"), both rare, add to the notion of vertical size that of impressiveness.

      [+FIG], [HIGH-DEGREE], [VERTICAL]; [[RARE]]

      4. Hóng 洪 refers to the size of water masses, and the word is often used in metaphorical senses.

      [ELEVATED], [+FIG], [HORIZONTAL]

      5. Hào 昊 refers to the vastness of the sky, as a poetic elevated epithet (sometimes perhaps confused by scribes with 旻 ).

      [ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [+FIG], [HORIZONTAL]

      6. Jù 巨 "huge" (ant. xì 細 "slight") indicates a very high degree of size.

    • ORDINARY

      1. The current general word for "ordinary" is fán 凡 (ant. qí 奇 "remarkable").

      2. Zhōng 中 (ant. yōu 優 "excellent") refers specifically to mediocrity.

      3. Yōng 庸 (ant. tè 特 "of special distinction") refers to what is regularly met and not unexpected, and the word focusses on that this does not distinguish itself through any positive features.

      4. Sǎn 散 (ant. jīng 精 "exquisite") refers to what can make no claim for special attention.

      5. Shù 庶 (ant. zhēn 珍 "extraordinarily precious") refers to kinds of persons that there are very many of.

      6. Cū 粗 (ant. jīng 精 "exquisitely civilised") refers to ordinariness as absence of cultural polish.

      7. Xì 細 (ant. kuí 魁 "great, towering") refers to ordinariness as absence of real power or significance.

      8. Wēi 微 (ant. jù 巨 "great") refers to relative slightness or insignificance without negative overtones.

    • SECRET

      1. The current general word for something being kept secret from the general public, but it remaining accessible to an inner circle, is mì 密 (ant. míng 明 "openly, for everyone to see").

      2. Yǐn 隱 (ant. xiǎn 顯 "manifestly, demonstratively") refers primarily to hiding something or being hidden from everyone except the person who is hiding it.

      3. Yīn 陰 (ant. míng 明 "openly, for everyone to see") refers to covert actions hidden from a certain person group.

      4. Tōu 偷 (ant. zhèng 正 "regularly and openly") refers to unreglemented inappropriate secrecy.

      5. Sī 私 (ant. gōng 公 "openly") focusses on the aspect of discreetness in secrecy.

      6. Jiàn 間 (ant. zhèng 正 "straightforwardly") refers to the secretiveness of secret agents in espionage and the like.

      7. Wēi 微 (ant. zhí 直 "straightforwardly") typically refers to secrecy achieved through indirectness or subtlety in the form of communication.

      8. Àn 暗 / 闇 (ant. míng 明 "openly, for everyone to see") gains its nuance from the original meaning of darkness and focusses on the shadiness of secretive action.

    • ABSTRACT

      [COMMENDATORY/DEROGATORY]

      [EXPLICIT/IMPLICIT]

      1. Xū 虛 derives its sense from the meaning "physically insubstantial" and refers negatively to something having only tenuous links with concrete things.

      [EXPLICIT]

      2. Wēi 微 derives its sense from the meaning "slight; tenuous" refers to something being so subtle and only indirectly suggestive as to have no direct manifest reference to any concrete reality or meaning.

      [IMPLICIT]

      3. Kōng 空 derives from the meaning "physically empty (space)" and refers to something being empty in a transferred sense so as to have no manifest reference to concrete reality.

      [DEROGATORY], [EXPLICIT]

    • FAMOUS

      1. The current general term for illustiousness and extraordinary fame is xiǎn 顯 (ant. huì 晦 "obscure").

      2. Míng 明 (ant. yōu 幽 "without any special lustre") adds to the notion of illustriousness that of supernatural authority.

      3. Lōng 隆 and chóng 崇 (all ant. bēi 卑 "humble") adds to the general notion illustriousness overtones of elevated removedness from the world of the ordinary.

      4. Liè 烈 and hè 赫 focus on the image of glamour radiating from those who are illustrious.

      5. Wàng 望 (ant. wēi 微 "of slight fame" and hán 寒 "of no formal distinction") focusses especially on the aspect of illustriousness that consists in profound public admiration.

      6. Wén 聞 is occasionally used to refer to a state of being much heard-of and well-known.

      7. Róng 榮 refers to resplendent glory on a large scale.

    • HUMBLE

      1. The current general word for objective low social status without any connotation concerning moral worth is bēi 卑 (ant. zūn 尊 "objectively venerable by social standards").

      2. Jiàn 賤 (ant. 貴 "objectively of high standard, but also personally and subjectively judged to deserve this high status") typically adds to the notion of objectively judged low status that of subjectively appreciated moral decrepitude.

      3. Xiǎo 小 and shào 少 (all ant. zhǎng 長 "senior") refers to relatively junior status in the bureaucratic hierarchy.

      4. Xià 下 refers to low status in absolute terms.

      5. Wēi 微 refers to a person being of low status so as to be of no substantial political or social importance. See UNIMPORTANT

      NB: One's rank wèi 位 may be said to be zūn 尊 "elevated" or bēi 卑 "lowly", but one's status as such could never be jiàn 賤.

      Word relations
    • Ant: (UNIMPORTANT)著/IMPORTANT
    • Ant: (TENUOUS)疾/INTENSELY Jìng 勁 and jí 疾 add the notion of vigour to that of intensity of degree.
    • Contrast: (TENUOUS)纖/TENUOUS
    • Assoc: (TENUOUS)妙/OBSCURE Miào 妙 adds to the notion of mysteriousness that of intricacy and felicity of structure.
    • Assoc: (TENUOUS)精/TENUOUS
    • Assoc: (TENUOUS)纖/TENUOUS
    • Assoc: (HUMBLE)賤/HUMBLE Jiàn 賤 (ant. 貴 "objectively of high standard, but also personally and subjectively judged to deserve this high status") typically adds to the notion of objectively judged low status that of subjectively appreciated moral decrepitude.
    • Synon: (TENUOUS)泊/TENUOUS
    • Synon: (TENUOUS)薄/THIN The current standard word for thinness of any kind is is báo 薄.
    • Synon: (UNIMPORTANT)輕 / 輕/UNIMPORTANT The current general term for unimportance is qīng 輕 (ant. zhòng 重 "important").