Character 偉

It marks a person, achievement, or thing as exceptional or grand. The old Chinese dictionary Shuowen records a small-seal form of 偉, an early formal style of Chinese writing. It analyzes the character as 人 (“person”) plus 韋, a component chosen for its sound.

In Chinese, 偉 usually appears in compounds: 偉大/伟大 means great or grand, 偉人/伟人 means a remarkable person, and 偉業/伟业 means a major achievement. In Japanese, 偉い can stand alone as an adjective and describe someone as admirable or important.

Someone sent me 偉いね—are they praising me?

Usually, yes—but it can sound patronizing upward. In Japanese, 偉いね is warm praise for effort, most natural when directed to a child, student, or junior. Said to an adult of equal or higher status, it can make you sound like their judge; choose a neutral compliment for a boss or teacher. 偉い人 also means an important person, so 偉い can praise conduct or mark rank.

Other Japanese phrases turn the praise into a complaint: 偉く疲れた means terribly tired, and 偉い目に遭った means having a bad experience. As of 2026, a regional Kansai and Tōkai use of 偉い meaning hard or exhausting is also recorded.

Why does 偉 look different in fonts?

Regional typefaces can alter its strokes without changing the character. CJK fonts may draw parts of 偉 differently to follow regional conventions. A changed outline alone does not mean a different word. The simplified Chinese form is 伟, which carries the same meanings in those Chinese compounds.

The surrounding words show whether the text is Chinese or Japanese: Chinese compounds use 偉 for greatness, while Japanese 偉い has an adjective ending and can carry the social risks of 偉いね.