风筝

• Pinyin: fēng zheng
• Hanzi breakdown: 风 = 几 + 虫 (wind, air movement); 筝 = 竹 + 争 (bamboo radical + to strive/sound — a stringed instrument; the kite named after the sound it makes)

Meaning

A kite; a lightweight frame covered with paper or fabric, flown in the air on a string.

Kites have been part of Chinese culture for over 2,000 years and originated in China. Weifang in Shandong province is renowned as the kite capital of the world. In literature, a kite on a string can symbolise freedom constrained or a child's connection to the wider world. 放风筝 (to fly a kite) is a beloved spring activity.

Examples

1. 清明节前后，公园里随处可见家长陪着孩子放风筝的温馨场景，五颜六色的风筝在蓝天下随风飘荡，构成了一幅生动的春日图景。 Around the Qingming Festival, you can see heartwarming scenes all over the park of parents flying kites with their children; colorful kites drift in the blue sky, forming a vivid springtime picture.
2. 潍坊国际风筝节每年吸引来自数十个国家的参赛者带着各具特色的风筝造型汇聚一堂，将这座城市的天空装点得绚烂多彩。 Every year, the Weifang International Kite Festival draws participants from dozens of countries, each bringing distinctive kite designs, turning the city’s sky into a dazzling display.
3. 她在阳台上望着楼下孩子手中那只越飞越高的风筝，心中突然涌起一种复杂的情绪，那根细线究竟是羁绊，还是联结？ From her balcony, she watched the kite in a child’s hands below climb higher and higher, and a complicated feeling suddenly rose in her—was that thin string a restraint, or a connection?

Usage Guide

Context: daily-life, culture, children, tradition

Tone: pleasant

Do Say

• 老师建议孩子们在周末尝试亲手制作一只传统风筝，通过这个过程不仅能了解中国民间手工艺的基本技法，还能培养专注力与动手能力。(The teacher suggested that the children try making a traditional kite by hand at the weekend — through this process they can not only learn the basic techniques of Chinese folk handicrafts, but also develop concentration and hands-on skills.)
• 潍坊风筝博物馆中的传统风筝构造精巧、图案繁复，不仅是民间艺术珍品，也是研究纸艺与工程智慧的重要资料。(The traditional kites in the Weifang Kite Museum are exquisitely built and richly patterned; they are not only folk art treasures but also important materials for studying paper art and engineering wisdom.)

Don't Say

• 风筝 as a verb — to fly a kite is 放风筝; 风筝 is only a noun

Origin & History

风 (wind) + 筝 (a stringed instrument) — named after the sound a kite makes in the wind, likened to the resonance of a stringed instrument

Cultural Context

Era: Classical

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal