呼风唤雨 (hū fēng huàn yǔ) — (idiom) to have the power to control the forces of nature; to wield immense influence; (idiom) to stir up trouble; to manipulate a situation behind the scenes

Definition

Literally 'call the wind and summon the rain.' Originally a mythic image of supernatural power; now mainly used to describe someone who wields huge influence or secretly manipulates events from behind the scenes.

idiom
to have the power to control the forces of natureto wield immense influenceto stir up troubleto manipulate a situation behind the scenes

Examples

  • 呼风唤雨,。
    Chuán shuō zhōng zhè wèi fǎ shī néng gòu hū fēng huàn yǔ, zhǐ huī léi diàn.
    Legend has it that this sorcerer could call the wind and rain, commanding thunder and lightning.
  • 呼风唤雨,。
    Tā zài shāng jiè hū fēng huàn yǔ, jī hū suǒ yǒu de bìng gòu dōu yǔ tā yǒu guān.
    He wields enormous power in the business world, and nearly every merger is connected to him.
  • ,呼风唤雨,。
    Bié kàn tā biǎo miàn lǎo shi, tā àn dì lǐ hū fēng huàn yǔ, tiāo qǐ le hěn duō zhēng duān.
    Don't be fooled by his honest appearance; behind the scenes he stirs up trouble and provokes many conflicts.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

呼风call wind
动宾Verb + object
唤雨summon rain
唤huànsummon雨yǔrain
动宾Verb + object

呼风 calls the wind and 唤雨 summons the rain, together describing control of natural forces.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
乎
乎hū呼hū
Same sound today

呼 uses 口 (mouth) to show exhaling, calling, or shouting, and 乎 gives the sound.

Open 呼 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 风 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 喚; 唤 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
Sound part声符shēngfú
奐
奐huàn喚huàn
Same sound today

The traditional form 喚 pairs 口 (mouth) with 奐, which gives the pronunciation; the simplified 唤 is a later shorthand, and its right side is not the old sound part.

Open 唤 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 雨 is an old picture of a cloud with rain drops falling from it; the top line was added later.

Open 雨 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.