呼风唤雨

呼風喚雨

hūfēng-huànyǔ

idiom HSK 7 #26,980

Meanings

1 to summon wind and rain; to wield great power
2 to have enormous influence

Characters

to call; to summon

to call; to summon

Literally 'summon wind and call rain' — originally described sorcerers who could control the weather, now means having enormous power and influence.

Examples

他在商界呼风唤雨。

Tā zài shāngjiè hūfēng-huànyǔ.

He wields great power in the business world.

科技让人类能够呼风唤雨。

Kējì ràng rénlèi nénggòu hūfēng-huànyǔ.

Technology gives humanity the power to transform the world.

Tips

history

Originally from descriptions of Daoist sorcerers and immortals who could literally control weather. In Journey to the West, many demons have this ability. Now it's purely metaphorical — a tech CEO who 呼风唤雨 is just very influential, not actually making it rain.

Stroke Order

呼 hū

风 fēng

唤 huàn

雨 yǔ