kewei = kebukeyi? what is wei?

[guest]

i heard "wo ke3wei4 wen ni yige wenti" on a tv show.
the subtitle read kebukeyi (can/cannot). Can someone explain the wei there to me?

[Hanzi Wensheng]

Yes, kewei = kebukeyi

Kewei is seldom used because it's Wenyen Wen (old Chinese), while kebukeyi is Baihua Wen (modern Chinese). Sometimes people use Wenyen sayings to make themselves appear scholarly or sophisticated.

[guest]

So in a way it's like the fou3 in shi4fou3 right? Though I hear that one kind of frequently than I've heard "wei." What's the character for "wei?"

[Hanzi Wensheng]

You're corrrect. Also, the "old way" to say "weishenme" is "weihe" 為何

kewei 可未

[heart]

what is wei in english?

[Dylan Sung]

未 wei means 'not' in one of it's senses.

[jinfeng1]

"wo ke3wei4 wen ni yige wenti. " This cannot happen in our daily life. Please forget it . It can happen in literature. Some people who do not master Mandarin may use this wei4.
As i know , rare chinese say shi4fou3 in daily life. It is written chinese!