According to the dictionary, 吹く is a transitive verb (e.g., a verb that needs an object).
However, the following sentence does not have an object. So what should I translate it?
風が強く吹いている。
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1明鏡国語辞典 lists 吹く as transitive and intransitive.– Chocolate ♦Mar 16, 2016 at 7:52
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2 Answers
As you can see here, 吹く can be transitive and intransitive.
風が吹く（自動詞） 笛を吹く（他動詞）
So 風が強く吹いている。 can translate to "(lit.) The wind is blowing hard." i.e. "It's blowing hard."
answered Mar 16, 2016 at 7:59
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So when it is windy, "風が吹" is the appropriate phrase, akin to how when its raining, you say "雨が降る"? Mar 16, 2016 at 14:12
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1@user11589 You'd say 雨が降って(い)る or just 雨だ / 雨です when it's rainy, and when it's windy you'd say 風が強い(lit. The wind is strong.), 風がある(lit. There's wind.), 風が吹いて(い)る(The wind is blowing.), 強い風が吹いてる(Strong wind is blowing.), けっこう/かなり風が吹いてる/風がある, etc...– Chocolate ♦Mar 17, 2016 at 3:09
As choco writes, “吹く” can be used in both ways of transitive and intransitive as a verb, though I think it’s more often used in a transitive than in intransitive form. Here are some examples I picked up at random:
(Transitive):
笛を吹く- play the flute
埃を吹く- blow the dust off
[法螺]{ほら}を吹く- talk big
毛を吹いて傷を求める - suffer great damage by sticking to a trivial matter
息を吹き返す - come back to life
ひと泡吹かせる - flummox someone / give sb a scare
(Intransitive):
そよ風が吹く - A light wind breezes
芽が吹く - The buds sprout.
泉水の水が吹く - The fountain water springs out.
嵐が吹き荒れる - The storm blows violently.
どこ吹く風 - I don't (he, she doesn't) care at all.