风和日丽

• Pinyin: fēng hé rì lì
• Hanzi breakdown: 风 = 几 + 虫 (wind, manner); 和 = 禾 + 口 (grain + mouth — harmony, gentleness); 日 = pictograph of the sun; 丽 = 一 + 丽 components (beautiful, brilliant)

Meaning

Pleasant weather with a gentle breeze and warm sunshine; a beautifully clear and mild day.

A four-character idiom (成语) used to describe ideal, beautiful weather. Often used in a literal sense to set a pleasant scene, or figuratively to describe a harmonious, peaceful situation. Frequently appears in literary descriptions of spring.

Examples

1. 那个风和日丽的春日午后，他独自坐在公园的长椅上，望着远处嬉戏的孩童，心中涌起一阵难以言说的温柔与感慨。 That sunny spring afternoon with a gentle breeze, he sat alone on a park bench, watching children play in the distance, and a wave of indescribable tenderness and reflection rose in his heart.
2. 典礼选在一个风和日丽的秋日举行，阳光穿透银杏树的叶隙洒落在宾客身上，整个场景如同一幅精心构图的油画。 The ceremony was held on a clear, breezy autumn day. Sunlight filtered through ginkgo leaves and fell on the guests, and the whole scene looked like a carefully composed oil painting.
3. 她还记得两人第一次相遇时正是这样一个风和日丽的下午，那时的一切都显得那么宁静美好，仿佛连时间都放慢了脚步。 She still remembered that the first time they met was on just such a bright, breezy afternoon. Everything felt so calm and beautiful, as if even time itself had slowed down.

Usage Guide

Context: literature, nature, description, daily-life

Tone: pleasant

Do Say

• 今天风和日丽，正适合把孩子们带到户外，让他们在大自然中尽情玩耍，而不是整天待在室内盯着屏幕。(Today the weather is fine and pleasant — exactly the right conditions to take the children outdoors and let them play freely in nature, rather than staying indoors all day staring at screens.)
• 作家在小说的开篇便以风和日丽的春日景色作为叙事背景，为随后展开的一系列悲剧事件营造出了一种强烈的反差效果。(The author opens the novel with the pleasant spring scenery of a fine, sunny day as the narrative backdrop, creating a powerful sense of contrast for the series of tragic events that subsequently unfold.)

Don't Say

• 风和日丽 in stormy or winter contexts — the idiom specifically refers to a calm, sunny day with mild wind; also avoid using it in serious or somber figurative contexts

Origin & History

风 (wind) + 和 (gentle/harmonious) + 日 (sun) + 丽 (beautiful/bright) — gentle wind and beautiful sunshine

Cultural Context

Era: Classical

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal