刮风
to be windy; the wind blows
guāfēng
What does 刮风 mean?
刮风 (guāfēng) literally 'wind scrapes' — Mandarin's everyday way of saying 'it's windy' or 'the wind is blowing.' Structurally it's a verb-object compound (刮 'to scrape/blow' + 风 'wind'), so unlike English 'windy,' it acts as a VERB. You usually say 外面刮风 (it's windy outside) or 今天刮风了 (it got windy today), not 今天很刮风.
To describe strength, insert 大: 刮大风 (strong wind blowing) or split the verb: 风刮得很大 (the wind is blowing hard). The same pattern shows up in 下雨 (xiàyǔ — to rain) and 下雪 (xiàxuě — to snow): weather verbs combine an action character with the weather noun. Use 刮风 in everyday weather chat; for forecasts and writing, you'll also see 有风 (yǒu fēng — there is wind).
Character breakdown
to scrape; (of wind) to blow
wind
Memory hook: 刮 'scrape' + 风 'wind' — the wind scrapes across your face: it's windy.
Example sentences
今天外面刮风。
Jīntiān wàimiàn guā fēng.
It's windy outside today.
spoken
昨天刮了一天风。
Zuótiān guā le yī tiān fēng.
It was windy all day yesterday.
spoken
刮风的时候，别忘了关窗户。
Guā fēng de shíhou, bié wàng le guān chuānghu.
When it's windy, don't forget to close the window.
neutral
明天会刮大风，你多穿点。
Míngtiān huì guā dà fēng, nǐ duō chuān diǎn.
It'll be very windy tomorrow, dress warmly.
spoken
Common phrases with 刮风
Synonyms
有风 ('there is wind') is more neutral/written and often used in forecasts. 刮风 emphasizes the wind actively blowing. Both fit casual speech; 刮风 sounds slightly more vivid.