一帆风顺
yī fān fēng shùn · HSK 7
to go smoothly
⛵ 一(one) + 帆(sail) + 风(wind) + 顺(smooth) = one sail, wind smooth = smooth sailing
A four-character literal: a single sail meeting a favorable wind the whole way. English already uses the same metaphor — plain sailing, smooth sailing — so the meaning maps one-to-one onto the boat-and-wind parts.
一 — single horizontal stroke
一 is one of the simplest pictographs in Chinese, depicting a single horizontal line to represent the number one. It has retained essentially the same form since oracle bone script over 3,000 years ago. By extension it also means 'first,' 'whole,' or 'same.'
帆 — cloth radical 巾 + 凡 (phonetic)
帆 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The cloth radical 巾 on the left signals the meaning—a piece of fabric—while 凡 on the right gives the sound 'fan'. Together they denote a sail, the cloth that catches wind to propel a boat.
风 — 几 (table) + 虫 (insect)
Originally written 鳳 (phoenix), later simplified. The traditional form 風 contains 虫 (insect), reflecting an old belief that wind brought insects or that creatures stirred with the wind. The modern simplified 风 keeps 几 as an outer frame around 㐅.
顺 — 川 (river) + 页 (head/face)
顺 combines 川 (flowing river) with 页 (head), originally depicting a head turned to follow the flow of water. The image of going along with the current gave rise to meanings like 'to follow,' 'smooth,' and 'in order.' It remains tied to ideas of compliance and natural sequence.