# 弱不禁风

ruò bù jīn fēng

Be extremely physically delicate

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Too weak to withstand the wind

**Traditional Chinese:** 弱不禁風

**Register:** Descriptive · general

[Perspective](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/perspective)

## When to use it

Describe frailty, sometimes with exaggeration.

Can be insulting; appearance does not establish health.

## Understanding the expression

Wind is normally something a healthy person can withstand, so inability to bear it exaggerates fragility. The expression often describes a thin or weakened person, sometimes in literary portraits. It can sound protective, mocking, or patronizing depending on the speaker. Learners should avoid treating body shape as a medical judgment. In everyday conversation, describing a known weakness or recovery period is kinder and more precise than labeling someone's appearance alone.

## Examples

病后他显得弱不禁风。

### Traditional Chinese

病後他顯得弱不禁風。

bìng hòu tā xiǎn de ruò bù jīn fēng 。

He looked very frail after his illness.

别看她弱不禁风，跑步却很快。

### Traditional Chinese

別看她弱不禁風，跑步卻很快。

bié kàn tā ruò bù jīn fēng ， pǎo bù què hěn kuài 。

She looks delicate but runs fast.

小说中的书生弱不禁风。

### Traditional Chinese

小說中的書生弱不禁風。

xiǎo shuō zhōng de shū shēng ruò bù jīn fēng 。

The scholar in the novel is physically frail.

小树弱不禁风，需要支架。

### Traditional Chinese

小樹弱不禁風，需要支架。

xiǎo shù ruò bù jīn fēng ， xū yào zhī jià 。

The delicate sapling needs a support.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E5%BC%B1%E4%B8%8D%E7%A6%81%E9%A2%A8)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=459&webMd=1&la=0)

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