The New Dictionary.
Search dictionary
Chinese/Dictionary entry

见风使帆

jiàn fēng shǐ fāndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. see the wind and set your sails (idiom) / fig. to act pragmatically / to be flexible and take advantage of the situation
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-69664304ff1f8cf9. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

見風使帆 见风使帆 [jian4 feng1 shi3 fan1] /lit. see the wind and set your sails (idiom); fig. to act pragmatically/to be flexible and take advantage of the situation/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 見風使帆

  • 见
    jiàn

    to see / to meet / to appear (to be sth) / to interview / opinion / view

    xiàn

    to appear / also written 現|现[xiàn]

  • 风
    fēng

    wind / news / style / custom / manner / CL:陣|阵[zhèn],絲|丝[sī]

  • 使
    shǐ

    to make / to cause / to enable / to use / to employ / to send / to instruct sb to do sth / envoy / messenger

  • 帆
    fān

    sail / Taiwan pr. [fán], except 帆布[fān bù] canvas / to gallop / Taiwan pr. [fán]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.