wèi

to guard

surname Wei; vassal state during the Zhou Dynasty (1066–221 BC), located in present-day Henan and Hebei Provinces; to protect; to defend; abbr. for 衛生|卫生, hygiene; health; abbr. for 衛生間|卫生间, toilet

hook (乛) + ground (一) = standing guard at the boundary

The original form showed a foot patrolling around a boundary — someone circling to keep watch. The simplified 卫 distills this to its bare strokes, but the idea of guarding a perimeter remains.

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OneSemantic
A hookSemantic

他姓,是我们班的同学。

tā xìng wèi,shì wǒ men bān de tóng xué。

His surname is Wei; he is a classmate in our class.

每个人都有责任保自己的国家。

měi gè rén dōu yǒu zé rèn bǎo wèi zì jǐ de guó jiā。

Every person has a responsibility to defend their own country.

Words with 卫

通信卫星

tōng xìn wèi xīng

communications satellite

通讯卫星

tōng xùn wèi xīng

communications satellite

连帽卫衣

lián mào wèi yī

hooded sweatshirt

锦衣卫

jǐn yī wèi

Brocade Uniform Guard, imperial bodyguard and secret police force of the Ming emperors

门卫

mén wèi

guard at gate

防卫

fáng wèi

to defend

防卫大臣

fáng wèi dà chén

minister of defense (esp. in Japan)

防卫武器

fáng wèi wǔ qì

defensive weapon

防卫过当

fáng wèi guò dàng

excessive self-defense (self-defense with excessive force)

雅典卫城

yǎ diǎn wèi chéng

the Acropolis (Athens)

不列颠保卫战

bù liè diān bǎo wèi zhàn

see 不列顛戰役|不列颠战役[Bu4 lie4 dian1 Zhan4 yi4]

世界卫生大会

shì jiè wèi shēng dà huì

World Health Assembly

More characters with 乛