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避风 (bì fēng) — to shelter from the wind (literal); to lie low, to stay away from trouble (figurative)

Definition

Literally 'shelter from wind'; figuratively 'lie low, wait out trouble' (e.g. 避风头). Both senses share the idea of pulling back from something unwelcome.

verb
to shelter from the wind (literal)to lie lowto stay away from trouble (figurative)

Examples

  • 避风。
    Wǒ men zhǎo le yí gè qiáng jiǎo bì fēng.
    We found a corner by the wall to shelter from the wind.
  • 。
    Tā zuì jìn zài xiāng xia bì guò fēng tou le.
    He's been lying low in the countryside, waiting out the trouble.
  • ，。
    Xiān bié jí zhe xíng dòng, děng guò le zhè zhèn fēng zài chū lái.
    Don't act yet — wait until this wave blows over before you come out.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

避bìavoid
风fēngwind

避 avoid and 风 wind together describe sheltering from wind or staying away from trouble.

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
辶Written in full as辵chuòto walk
Sound part声符shēngfú
辟
辟pì避bì
Same sound today

避 is built from 辶, a walking-related form, plus 辟, which gives the pronunciation.

Open 避 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 风 →
Appears in
Weather

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