音読み: イ
訓読み: えらい
画数: 12
部首: 人（にんべん）
Meaning
Great / Remarkable / Admirable.
- 偉い — great / admirable / remarkable
- 偉人 — great person / historical figure
- 偉業 — great achievement / feat
- 偉才 — outstanding talent
- 偉観 — magnificent view
- 偉大 — greatness / grand
- 偉そう（な） — haughty / acting important
偉 combines the person radical 亻 with the phonetic/semantic element 韋 (イ) — originally “tanned leather,” suggesting firmness and distinction. Put together, it paints a person who stands out — someone admirable, remarkable, great.
Another イ word! 緯 is the “weft/latitude” that stretches things wide; 偉 is the person that stands out wide of the crowd — remarkable. Link the sound イ to “standing out,” and 偉 becomes easy to recall.
Creates
偉業 — great achievement; feat.