刮风
guā fēng · HSK 7
to be windy
🌬️ 刮 (scrape) + 风 (wind) = wind scrapes across the land
刮 means to scrape or shave, 风 means wind. Together they describe wind scraping past — the literal compound for windy weather. Same 刮 as in 刮胡子 (shave beard).
刮 — tongue 舌 + knife 刂
A semantic-phonetic compound: 刂 (knife) gives the meaning of scraping or shaving, while 舌 supplies the sound. The original sense was to scrape with a blade, later extended to wind 'scraping' surfaces, as in 刮风 (to blow strongly).
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.