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下风 (xià fēng) — (noun) leeward side; downwind direction; (noun) disadvantageous position; unfavorable situation

Definition

A figurative noun meaning 'disadvantageous position' — used mainly in the set phrase 处于下风 / 占下风 ('to be at a disadvantage', e.g. in a debate or competition). The literal 'leeward / downwind' sense is rare in modern usage.

noun
leeward sidedownwind directiondisadvantageous positionunfavorable situation

Examples

  • ，下风。
    Fān chuán yào tiáo zhěng fāng xiàng, bì miǎn chǔ yú xià fēng wèi zhì.
    The sailboat needs to adjust direction to avoid being in a leeward position.
  • ，下风。
    Zài zhè chǎng biàn lùn zhōng, tā míng xiǎn chǔ yú xià fēng.
    In this debate, he is clearly at a disadvantage.
  • 下风，。
    Gōng sī yì zhí zhàn xià fēng, hěn nán yǔ duì shǒu jìng zhēng.
    The company has been at a disadvantage all along and finds it hard to compete with its rivals.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

下xiàdownwind
风fēngwind

「下」 marks the downwind side, and 「风」 is the wind.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Open 下 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 风 →
Appears in
Abstract ConceptsWeather

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