Chinese character for cloud: 云 (yún)
The Chinese character for cloud is 云 (yún). It means cloud and appears in 白云 (báiyún, white clouds) and 云彩 (yúncai, clouds). It is also used for 'cloud' in technology, as in 云计算 (cloud computing).
How 云 is built
云 is an ancient picture of a curling cloud. Over time the character 云 was borrowed to mean 'to say', so a rain radical 雨 was added on top to make 雲 for 'cloud'. Simplified Chinese went back to the original 云. As a memory aid, see two lines of sky above a swirl of cloud. The traditional 雲 is still used in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
云 yún · cloud
- 二 — two strokes
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 厶sī — private
Origin hint: A cloud (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
How 云 is used
Before you use it as a tattoo or design: Traditional 雲 includes the rain radical and is the form used in classical art; simplified 云 is very short.
Questions
What is the Chinese character for cloud?
云 (yún) means “cloud”. In traditional characters it is written 雲.
How do you pronounce 云?
云 is pronounced yún.
Is 云 simplified or traditional?
云 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore; 雲 is the traditional form used in Taiwan and Hong Kong.