風
contributes the sense of wind · Kangxi radical 182
contributes the sense of wind, moving air, and by extension airs, customs and rumor
In the oldest writing 風 was borrowed from the graph for a great bird, the phoenix, whose beating wings stood in for the invisible wind. Later the bird was dropped and the character was rebuilt as an outer frame 凡, which supplied the sound, wrapped around 虫, a small creature — reflecting an old idea that wind stirred insects and other crawling things into life. The modern shape still shows that arrangement: a curved enclosure that looks like a sail or a bent sheet, with 虫 sheltered inside it.
風 at a glance
- Meaning
- contributes the sense of wind
- Strokes
- 9
- Characters
- 13
- Role
- Usually contributes meaning
- Kangxi radical
- 182
Frequently asked questions
What does the component 風 mean?
風 means "contributes the sense of wind". In the characters that contain it, it usually contributes meaning.
How many Chinese characters contain 風?
13 characters in this dictionary contain 風.
Is 風 a radical?
Yes — 風 is Kangxi radical 182, one of the 214 traditional indexing radicals used to organise Chinese dictionaries.
How many strokes does 風 have?
風 is written in 9 strokes.