Chinese word

吹

Pronunciation

Pinyinchuī

Meaning

  • verbblow

Example

外面在吹风。wài miàn zài chuī fēng

The wind is blowing outside.

Illustration for 吹 (blow)

More examples

她把桌上的蜡烛一口吹灭了。tā bǎ zhuō shàng de là zhú yì kǒu chuī miè le

She blew out the candle on the table in one breath.

Core concept

A burst of breath moves outward, whether it stirs air, makes a wind instrument sound, or gives speech too much force.

Common phrases

  • 吹风chuī fēng

    wind blows

  • 吹灭chuī miè

    blow out

  • 吹牛chuī niú

    brag

Similar words

刮guā: Form a strong flow of air that moves across an area.
夸kuā: Express praise by describing what is good about someone or something.
吹嘘chuī xū: Describe someone or something with claims that are bigger than the truth and may fool people.

Definition in Chinese

用口部或器具将气体向外送出以形成气流或发声，常用于演奏管乐器，并可作比喻表示夸耀或夸张的言辞。yòng kǒu bù huò qì jù jiāng qì tǐ xiàng wài sòng chū yǐ xíng chéng qì liú huò fā shēng cháng yòng yú yǎn zòu guǎn yuè qì bìng kě zuò bǐ yù biǎo shì kuā yào huò kuā zhāng de yán cí

Word origin

吹 (chuī, "to blow") develops from outward breath to wind-instrument playing, while its figurative sense treats exaggerated speech as words pushed beyond the facts.

Usage tips

  • The musical sense normally takes a wind instrument or a tune as its object, which helps separate it from ordinary blowing.

Other meanings

  • playverb
  • bragverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 吹灭chuī mièblow outverb
  • 吹气chuī qìblow airverb

Word lists with this word