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吹风 (chuī fēng) — to catch a chill from being in a draft; to blow-dry (hair); (colloquial) to give advance notice, to tip off

Definition

A verb-object phrase with three distinct uses: literal 'to be in a draft / catch a chill', the everyday 'blow-dry (hair)', and colloquial 'give someone advance notice / tip off'.

verb
to catch a chill from being in a draftto blow-dry (hair)(colloquial) to give advance noticeto tip off

Examples

  • 吹风。
    Wǒ qù lǐ fà diàn ràng lǐ fà shī gěi wǒ chuī fēng.
    I go to the barber shop to have the hairdresser blow-dry my hair.
  • ，。
    Zuó tiān zài wài miàn chuī le fēng, suǒ yǐ jīn tiān gǎn mào le.
    I caught a chill outside yesterday, so I have a cold today.
  • 吹风，。
    Jīng lǐ yǐ jīng xiàng bù mén fù zé rén chuī fēng le, dà jiā yào zuò hǎo zhǔn bèi.
    The manager has already given advance notice to the department heads; everyone should be prepared.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

吹chuīblow
风fēngwind

吹 is to blow, and 风 is wind, so the image is blowing wind, extended to drafts and hair drying.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

吹 pairs 口 (mouth) with 欠 (blow), giving the picture of air being blown from the mouth.

Open 吹 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 风 →
Appears in
Communication & SpeechHygiene & Grooming

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