吹く
ふく · fuku · JLPT N5 · verb-godan
to blow
🌬️🎐 fuku sounds like foo — the puff of air your lips make when you blow
Say fu out loud: your lips round and push air out, which is the act of blowing itself. The kanji 吹 = 口 (mouth) + 欠 (yawn, open mouth), so it literally reads as a mouth letting out air. Used for wind blowing and for playing wind instruments.
吹 — mouth 口 + lack/yawn 欠
吹 is a semantic compound. 口 (mouth) shows the action involves the mouth, while 欠 depicts a person with an open mouth exhaling or yawning. Together they vividly suggest blowing air out, the core meaning 'to blow.'