风雨
fēng yǔ · HSK 7
wind and rain
🌬️🌧️ 风 (wind) + 雨 (rain) = the elements, by extension hardships
Literal compound: 风 wind plus 雨 rain. Chinese pairs two weather nouns to mean the elements collectively, then extends figuratively to the storms of life — trials and hardships one endures.
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.
雨 — pictograph: sky 一 + cloud 冂 + four water drops
雨 is a pictograph showing rain falling from a cloud under the sky. The top horizontal stroke represents the sky, the enclosing shape depicts a cloud, and the four small strokes inside are falling raindrops. Its meaning 'rain' has stayed consistent since oracle bone script.