风险
fēngxiǎn · HSK 3
risk
⚠️ 风 (wind) + 险 (danger) = wind-borne danger, i.e. risk
风 means wind and 险 means danger or peril. Together they mean risk — the kind of unpredictable danger that blows in like bad weather. 险 also appears in 危险 (wēixiǎn, dangerous) and 保险 (bǎoxiǎn, insurance).
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.
险 — 阝(阜, mound) + 佥 (qiān, all/together)
Originally written 險 in traditional form, this is a semantic-phonetic compound. The 阝 (mound/hill) radical signals the original meaning of steep, dangerous terrain, while 佥 provided the sound. From rugged cliffs the meaning extended metaphorically to 'danger' and 'risk' in general.