noun HSK 5
Traditional 風潮
fēng cháo
trend · craze · fad · wave of popular interest

Meaning

风潮 refers to a widespread trend, fashion, or movement that sweeps through society. It combines 风 (wind) and 潮 (tide), creating a metaphor for something that moves quickly and powerfully through a population, like wind and waves. It often describes cultural, social, or consumer phenomena that gain sudden popularity.

Usage

Commonly used in media, marketing, and social commentary to describe popular trends or crazes. It can be neutral or slightly negative depending on context, sometimes implying something superficial or temporary. Often appears with verbs like 掀起 (to set off), 引发 (to trigger), or 跟随 (to follow).

Examples

  1. 01
    最近掀起了一股怀旧风潮
    Zuì jìn xiān le huái jiù fēng cháo.
    Recently a wave of nostalgia has emerged.
  2. 02
    这种健身方式在年轻人中引发了新的风潮
    Zhè zhǒng jiàn shēn fāng shì zài nián qīng rén zhōng yǐn le xīn de fēng cháo.
    This fitness method has sparked a new craze among young people.

Characters

Measure words

  • 一股风潮
  • zhèn一阵风潮

Common collocations

  • 掀起风潮
    xiān fēng cháo
    to set off a craze
  • 流行风潮
    liú xíng fēng cháo
    popular trend
  • 风潮
    gēn fēng cháo
    to follow the trend
  • 复古风潮
    fēng cháo
    retro trend

Origin

The metaphor combines natural forces (wind and tide) to represent social movements that sweep through communities with similar power and speed.

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