12 Chinese Idioms About Wind (风)
Master Chinese idioms featuring wind (风), symbolizing change, influence, and natural forces.
Wind (风, fēng) in Chinese idioms represents change, influence, reputation, and natural forces. These expressions describe everything from swift action to social trends.
风雨同舟
fēng yǔ tóng zhōuShare hardships together
Literal: Share boat in wind and rain
Sharing a boat (同舟) through wind (风) and rain (雨). The Sunzi supplies the underlying observation: the men of Wu and the men of Yue hate one another, but caught in the same boat in a gale they will help each other like the left hand and the right. That is the argument the phrase carries — not that th...
Example
The partners stood by each other through business difficulties
合伙人在企业困难时期互相支持
春风化雨
chūn fēng huà yǔGentle, nurturing influence
Literal: Spring wind and nurturing rain
This is from the Mencius, which counts among a teacher's modes the one who transforms a student as a timely rain does — the spring wind (春风) and the rain that transforms (化雨). Nothing is forced; the growth is the student's own, and the teacher supplies the conditions. It is reserved for education ra...
Example
The teacher's patient guidance slowly transformed the struggling student
老师耐心的引导慢慢改变了这个困难学生
风声鹤唳
fēng shēng hè lìOverly fearful and suspicious
Literal: Wind sound crane call
After the rout at the Fei River, Fu Jian's enormous army broke and ran, and the History of the Jin says that the sound (声) of the wind (风) and the cry (唳) of a crane (鹤) were enough to convince the fleeing men that the Jin army was on them. They slept in the open and starved on the road, and most of...
Example
After the security breach, the company became extremely cautious about every small alert
在安全漏洞事件后，公司对每个小警报都格外警惕
金风玉露
jīn fēng yù lùAutumn wind and dew; autumn scenery
Literal: Golden wind jade dew
Golden (金) wind (风) and jade (玉) dew (露) — the autumn wind and the first cold dew, named in the colours of precious things. Qin Guan's lyric fixed the phrase: 金风玉露一相逢，便胜却人间无数, one meeting in the autumn wind and dew outdoes countless meetings in the ordinary world. He is writing about the Herdboy and...
Example
The market conditions were ideal for launching the new product
市场条件非常适合推出新产品
风云突变
fēng yún tū biànSudden dramatic change
Literal: Wind cloud sudden change
Wind (风) and cloud (云) changing (变) abruptly (突). The pairing is the Chinese shorthand for the state of the sky, and by extension for the state of affairs, which is why 风云 turns up in so many phrases about the political weather. What this one specifies is the speed. It describes a situation that has...
Example
The market landscape changed completely after the new regulations
新规定出台后，市场格局完全改变了
风云际会
fēng yún jì huìPerfect moment of opportunity
Literal: Wind cloud gather meeting
Wind (风) and cloud (云) coming together (际会) at the same moment. The Book of Changes supplies the underlying image, where clouds follow the dragon and wind follows the tiger, so the meeting of the two is the sign of something considerable arriving. The phrase names the convergence rather than the eve...
Example
The market conditions created a perfect opportunity for the new venture
市场条件为新企业创造了完美的机会
风月无边
fēng yuè wú biānBoundless natural beauty and romance
Literal: Wind moon without boundaries
Wind (风) and moon (月) without (无) bound (边) — the two standing together for natural beauty and, by extension, for romance. The phrase is the answer to a famous puzzle: the two characters 虫二, carved on Mount Tai and elsewhere, are 風月 with their outer strokes removed, so the borders are literally gone...
Example
The poet's work captured the limitless beauty of natural landscapes
诗人的作品捕捉了自然景观的无限美丽
风雨无阻
fēng yǔ wú zǔPersist despite difficult conditions
Literal: Wind rain no hindrance
Wind (风) and rain (雨) constitute no (无) obstacle (阻). It is a promise rather than a description: what is asserted is that the arrangement holds regardless of conditions. Weather stands in for every ordinary excuse, which is why the phrase turns up on notices for events that intend to go ahead. It is...
Example
The delivery service continued operating throughout the severe typhoon season
快递服务在整个台风季节期间继续运营
风华正茂
fēng huá zhèng màoAt peak of youth's ability
Literal: Bearing and talent in full bloom
The point at which somebody's bearing and talent (风华) are in fullest flower (正茂). Unlike most entries here it is modern rather than classical, and owes its currency to twentieth-century writing about youth. It is used of a period of life rather than a single achievement, and carries a sense of power...
Example
The young athletes represented their country at the peak of their physical capabilities
这些年轻运动员在他们身体能力的巅峰时期代表国家参赛
呼风唤雨
hū fēng huàn yǔWielding extraordinary influence over others
Literal: Summon wind, call rain
To summon (呼) the wind (风) and call up (唤) the rain (雨). The image comes from the world of ritual weather-working, and the phrase has kept the sense of power over things that ought not to be controllable. It is rarely admiring. People whose informal influence over an institution or a market exceeds ...
Example
The influential investor could transform market trends with a single public statement
这位有影响力的投资者可以用一个公开声明改变市场趋势
捕风捉影
bǔ fēng zhuō yǐngMake accusations without solid evidence
Literal: Catch wind grasp shadow
The Book of Han dismisses a fruitless pursuit in words close to these: listen to such talk and it fills the ear as though the thing were within reach, but go after it and it is 如系风捕景, like tying the wind and catching a shadow, and it is never got. The modern form substitutes catching (捕) for tying a...
Example
The investigation was based on rumors with no substantial evidence
调查是基于没有实质证据的谣言
乘风破浪
chéng fēng pò làngBoldly forge ahead through adversity
Literal: Ride wind break waves
The Book of Song records Zong Que's uncle asking the boy what he wanted from life, and the answer: I wish to ride the long wind (乘风) and break (破) ten thousand li of waves (浪). He was a child at the time, and he grew up to be one of the dynasty's leading generals. Li Bai later took the image up in a...
Example
The startup boldly expanded during economic turbulence while competitors retreated
当竞争对手退缩时，这家初创公司在经济动荡期间大胆扩张
Quick Reference
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