Chinese word

云

Pronunciation

Pinyinyún

Meaning

  • nouncloud

Example

傍晚的云很漂亮。bàng wǎn de yún hěn piào liàng

The evening clouds are very beautiful.

Illustration for 云 (cloud)

More examples

早上，云慢慢地从山后飘出来。zǎo shàng yún màn màn dì cóng shān hòu piāo chū lái

In the morning, clouds slowly drifted out from behind the mountain.

Core concept

Water gathered high in the sky into drifting patches or layers that shape the view above.

Common phrases

  • 一片云yí piàn yún

    a cloud

  • 白云bái yún

    white cloud

Similar words

雨yǔ: Water falling from the sky in drops.
雪xuě: White ice crystals or flakes falling from the sky.
风fēng: Moving air that can be felt as a flow.
天气tiān qì: The condition of the sky, temperature, and air in a place.

Definition in Chinese

天空中由水汽凝结形成的可见体，通常呈白色或灰色的层状或团块，随气流移动并影响天空的明暗与天气。tiān kōng zhōng yóu shuǐ qì níng jié xíng chéng de kě jiàn tǐ tōng cháng chéng bái sè huò huī sè de céng zhuàng huò tuán kuài suí qì liú yí dòng bìng yíng xiǎng tiān kōng de míng àn yǔ tiān qì

Word origin

云 (yún, "cloud") is the modern simplified shape of a character traditionally written with the character for rain, and the same written form also had an old use meaning "say".

Usage tips

  • English can use cloud as both a noun and a verb, while the basic Chinese word is used as a noun for the sky object, so sentence patterns differ.

Related words

  • 云彩yún cǎicloudnoun
  • 云层yún céngcloud layernoun

Word lists with this word