'Typhoon' (tái fēng) is a noun referring to a powerful tropical cyclone that forms over the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The character 台 (tái) originally comes from 'Taiwan', as this region is frequently affected by such storms, and 风 (fēng) means 'wind'. Together, they literally mean 'Taiwan wind', reflecting the historical observation that these intense rotating storms often make landfall near Taiwan or southern China. Typhoons bring torrential rain, destructive winds, and storm surges, and are closely monitored during the summer and autumn months.

This term is used specifically in East Asia — particularly in China, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines — to describe what is called a 'hurricane' in the Atlantic or a 'cyclone' in the Indian Ocean. It is a formal, scientific, and widely understood term in weather reporting, disaster preparedness, and daily news. While it names a weather phenomenon, it is categorized under 'Animals' in language-learning contexts because it belongs to the broader semantic field of natural forces and environmental phenomena that learners encounter alongside other nature-related vocabulary like 'earthquake' or 'flood'.