fēng
wind
How it’s built
Simplified form of 風. Originally written the same as 鳳 (phoenix) because the two characters sounded the same. Later the bottom part of the character was abbreviated to distinguish the two characters.
凡
sound
(plate); ordinary; commonplace
㐅
simplified
five — Shorthand for the 鳳 component in the traditional character 風. Abbreviated remnant of 鳳, originally a pictograph of a mythical bird. Later reanalyzed as 虫 (bug, worm).
Through the ages