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狂风暴雨 (kuáng fēng bào yǔ) — violent storm (literal); turbulent or crisis-ridden situation (figurative)

Definition

An idiom meaning 'violent wind and rain' — literally a fierce storm, figuratively any turbulent crisis (political upheaval, personal turmoil). A stronger, more literary image than 风暴.

idiom
violent storm (literal)turbulent or crisis-ridden situation (figurative)

Examples

  • 狂风暴雨。
    Zuó tiān wǎn shàng de kuáng fēng bào yǔ bǎ hěn duō shù dōu chuī dǎo le.
    Last night's violent storm blew down many trees.
  • 狂风暴雨。
    Zhè ge guó jiā zhèng jīng lì yì chǎng zhèng zhì shàng de kuáng fēng bào yǔ.
    This country is experiencing a political storm.
  • 狂风暴雨。
    Tā men de hūn yīn zài kuáng fēng bào yǔ zhōng yī rán wěn gù.
    Their marriage remains stable amid the storm.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

狂风violent wind
狂kuángwild风fēngwind
偏正Modifier + head
暴雨violent rain
暴bàoviolent雨yǔrain
偏正Modifier + head

狂风 is violent wind and 暴雨 is violent rain, together picturing a violent storm.

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
犭Written in full as犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
㞷
㞷㞷狂kuáng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

狂 pairs 犭 (dog) with 㞷, which gives the sound; 㞷 is an old form of a character meaning 'to go'.

Open 狂 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 风 →

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

The earliest form paired 虎 and 戈, a tiger and a weapon. The later 暴 came from a picture of hands drying something in the sun.

Open 暴 →

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 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesWeather

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