风雨

• Pinyin: fēng yǔ
• Hanzi breakdown: 风 = 几 + 虫 (wind, air current); 雨 = 一 + 冂 + dots (pictograph of rain falling from clouds)

Meaning

Wind and rain; stormy weather; used both literally and figuratively to describe hardships, difficulties, and turbulent times.

One of the most common metaphors in Chinese for life's hardships. 经历风雨 (to go through wind and rain) = to overcome hardships. 风雨同舟 (weather wind and rain together in the same boat) = to stand together through hardship. 风雨无阻 (not stopped by wind and rain) = undeterred by difficulties.

Examples

1. 创业路上风雨不断，他们几次濒临资金断裂的绝境，但凭借团队之间深厚的信任与互相扶持，最终一一化解了危机。 Their startup journey was full of storms; they came close several times to running out of cash, but thanks to deep trust and mutual support within the team, they overcame each crisis.
2. 无论遭遇怎样的风雨，这所山区学校的教师们几十年如一日地坚守在讲台前，用知识为大山里的孩子照亮了通往未来的路。 No matter what hardships arose, the teachers at this mountain school held their posts for decades without wavering, using education to light a path toward the future for children in the mountains.
3. 这对兄弟自幼相依为命，共同经历了家族的起伏与时代的变迁，用彼此间深厚的情义诠释了什么是真正的风雨同舟。 These brothers depended on each other from childhood and lived through their family’s ups and downs and the changes of the times, showing through their deep bond what it truly means to weather storms together.

Usage Guide

Context: personal-narrative, biography, inspiration, relationships

Tone: serious

Do Say

• 人生中的风雨是无法回避的，但关键在于如何在风雨中保持清醒的判断力、坚定的意志力和对未来的合理期待，而不是被眼前的困境所击垮。(The storms of life cannot be avoided — but the key lies in how to maintain clear judgement, steadfast resolve, and reasonable expectations for the future amid the storms, rather than being crushed by the difficulties before you.)
• 那段风雨交加的创业岁月虽已过去，但他每次讲起，仍能感到那种濒临绝境后的震撼。(Those stormy years of entrepreneurship are long past, but whenever he talks about them, he still feels the shock of having come close to ruin.)

Don't Say

• 风雨 for pleasant outdoor weather — in figurative contexts it always implies hardship; for literal pleasant weather, use 晴天 or 好天气

Origin & History

风 (wind) + 雨 (rain) — wind and rain; by extension, hardship and the trials of life

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal