穿堂风 (chuān táng fēng) — through-draft; draft that blows through a building from one side to the other
Definition
A breeze that passes straight through a building, entering one side and exiting the other. Opening doors or windows at both ends creates it, and in old Chinese houses the layout was often designed to catch it for cooling.
noun
through-draftdraft that blows through a building from one side to the other
Measure word · 阵
Examples
- ，，穿堂风，。Xià tiān de shí hou, dǎ kāi qián mén hé hòu mén, wū zi lǐ jiù yǒu chuān táng fēng, fēi cháng liáng kuai.In summer, if you open the front and back doors, there will be a through-draft in the room, which is very cool.
- 穿堂风，。chuān táng fēng Suī rán liáng kuai, dàn rú guǒ chuī tài jiǔ róng yì gǎn mào.Although a through-draft is cool, if you are in it too long, you can easily catch a cold.
- 穿堂风，。Lǎo fáng zi de shè jì tè yì ràng chuān táng fēng cóng tīng táng chuān guò, bǎo chí liáng shuǎng.The design of the old house deliberately lets the through-draft pass through the hall to keep it cool.
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.
穿 and 堂 give the idea of moving through a hall, and 风 gives wind.
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