风雨交加
fēng yǔ jiāo jiā
wind and rain together; a howling storm; (fig.) troubles striking at once
Character by character
风fēng
wind
wind
雨yǔ
rain
rain
交jiāo
together
together
加jiā
pile on
pile on
Example
那天晚上风雨交加，他还是坚持把病人送到了医院。
It was a wild, stormy night, but he still insisted on getting the patient to hospital.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
Mostly literal, for storms and typhoons, and a favourite scene-setter in stories: 一个风雨交加的夜晚. Used figuratively, it means several misfortunes arriving together.
Learn this in Lesson 15 · HSK 5: 梅雨、回南天与台风 (Plum rains, “returning south” days and typhoons)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
Open the lesson →