Chinese Tattoo 风: Meaning, Strokes & Design Guide
The character 风 means "wind; air; manners, atmosphere" and is pronounced fēng. Below: its structure, the words it appears in, and how it works as a tattoo.
Quick facts
| Character | 风 |
| Pinyin | fēng |
| Meaning | wind; air; manners, atmosphere |
| Strokes | 4 |
| Radical | ⾵ (No. 182) |
| HSK level | newest-3 |
Words that contain 风
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 风格 | fēng gé | style | newest-5 |
| 风险 | fēng xiǎn | risk; hazard | newest-5 |
| 风景 | fēng jǐng | scenery; landscape | newest-4 |
| 风暴 | fēng bào | storm | newest-7 |
| 作风 | zuò fēng | style | newest-7 |
| 风光 | fēng guāng | scene | newest-6 |
Words and levels: HSK vocabulary list · meanings: CC-CEDICT.
Placing 风
风 is only 4 strokes, so it stays readable even small — but a simple character shows every wobble. There is nowhere to hide a shaky line here, so line weight and steady spacing matter more than with a dense character. Bring the stencil together with the pinyin and the meaning, and ask the artist to follow the stencil rather than redrawing the character freehand — freehand redrawing is the most common way a correct character loses a stroke and becomes a different one.
Design notes for 风
风 appears both on its own and inside compounds, so the sense depends on context; here it reads “wind; air; manners, atmosphere”. Regular script (楷书) keeps every stroke countable, which matters when a Chinese reader checks it. Avoid mirroring or rotating the character, and avoid very fine or cursive styles at small sizes, where strokes merge into a shape that reads as a different character.
Frequently asked questions
What does 风 mean?
风 (fēng) means “wind; air; manners, atmosphere”.
How is 风 pronounced?
风 is pronounced fēng in Mandarin.
How many strokes does 风 have?
风 has 4 strokes, under the ⾵ radical (No. 182).
How large should a 风 tattoo be?
With 4 strokes, 风 is open and holds detail well even at small sizes.
Which style works for 风?
Bold regular script (楷书) keeps the strokes clear. Semi-cursive (行书) adds flow but softens edges. Seal script looks classical but is harder for most readers to verify — use it only if a native reader has confirmed the rendering.
Is 风 common in modern Chinese?
Yes — 风 appears as a standalone HSK vocabulary item (newest-3), and in everyday words such as 风格、风险、风景.
Should I use simplified or traditional 风?
风 is written the same in simplified and traditional Chinese, so there is no form to choose.
Want 风 as a ready-to-use stencil with a native-checked meaning card, sized for your tattoo artist?
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Character data: Unihan (Unicode) · words: HSK vocabulary & CC-CEDICT · How we verify this