飈
whirlwind
Strokes21
Readings
On'yomi
- ヒョウ
Kun'yomi
- つむじかぜ
Meaning
飈 centers on a violent, spiraling wind: a whirlwind. It is a specific atmospheric phenomenon of rotating wind.
Study
Etymology
飈 combines 風 (wind) with 焱 (flame, blaze), suggesting a wind so fierce it resembles rising flames, hence a whirlwind. The exact historical development is uncertain, but the semantic combination is plausible.
Meaning mnemonic
Inside the wind enclosure 風, three fires 火 are stacked like a blazing inferno. Picture a whirlwind spinning flames into a fiery tornado: 飈 is a whirlwind.
Reading mnemonic
For ヒョウ, imagine a whirlwind howling 'hyoo' as it spins: the sound 'hyoo' cues ヒョウ, like the wind's own voice.