防风 (fáng fēng) — to protect against the wind; to shelter from the wind

Definition

Literally 'guard against wind' (防 + 风): to block or shelter from the wind, so it doesn't reach you or something you're protecting. Used both literally (a jacket, a wall) and in set phrases like 防风霜 'wind-protection cream'.

verb
to protect against the windto shelter from the wind

Examples

  • 防风，。
    Zhè jiàn wài tào néng fáng fēng, chuān shàng qù hěn nuǎn huo.
    This jacket can block the wind — wearing it is very warm.
  • 防风，。
    Nǐ xū yào tú xiē fáng fēng shuāng, bǎo hù pí fū.
    You need to apply some wind-protection cream to protect your skin.
  • ，。
    Zài yě wài yào fáng hǎo fēng, bù rán róng yì gǎn mào.
    In the wild you must guard well against the wind, or you'll easily catch a cold.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

防fángprotect against
风fēngwind

The characters 防, meaning protect against, and 风, meaning wind, combine to express sheltering from wind.

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
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
方
方fāng防fáng
Same sound today

防 pairs 阝 (written fully as 阜) with 方, which gives the sound.

Open 防 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 风 →

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