云 meaning and stroke order
Cloud
How to write 云, stroke by stroke
4 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Meaning of 云
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (classical) to say
- cloud
How 云 is built
Pictographic character. A cloud.
Radical: 二 (two), shared by 14 characters on this site.
How to remember 云
云 (yún) is a picture of a cloud. The two lines of 二 on top are flat layers of cloud in the sky, and the curly 厶 below is a puff of cloud drifting down.
In modern Chinese 云 mostly means cloud and appears in weather words like 多云 (duōyún, cloudy) and in tech words like 云端 (yúnduān, the cloud). The meaning "to say" survives mainly in classical phrases. Example: 今天多云。(Jīntiān duōyún.) It is cloudy today.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 云 (yún) with 去 (qù, to go), because both have 厶 at the bottom. Remember that 云 has two short flat lines on top, while 去 has 土 on top with a vertical stroke.
Common words with 云
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 多云 | duōyún | (meteorology) cloudy | HSK 2 |
| 乌云 | wūyún | black cloud | HSK 6 |
| 风云 | fēngyún | weather; unstable situation | HSK 7-9 |
| 星云 | xīngyún | nebula | |
| 云层 | yúncéng | the clouds; cloud layer | |
| 云雀 | yúnquè | (bird species of China) Eurasian skylark (Alauda arvensis) | |
| 云彩 | yúncai | (coll.) cloud | |
| 云端 | yúnduān | high in the clouds; (computing) the cloud | |
| 烟消云散 | yānxiāoyúnsàn | (idiom) to vanish like smoke in thin air; to disappear | |
| 白云 | Báiyún | white cloud | |
| 浮云 | fúyún | floating clouds; fleeting | |
| 云朵 | yúnduǒ | a cloud | |
| 云云 | yúnyún | and so on; so and so | |
| 云霄 | Yúnxiāo | (the) skies |
云 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 云
Learning 云 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 云
How many strokes are in 云?
云 is written with 4 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 云 mean?
云 (yún) means cloud. A common word with it is 多云 (duōyún), meaning "(meteorology) cloudy".
How do you pronounce 云?
云 is pronounced yún, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 云?
The radical of 云 is 二, which carries the idea of "two". Dictionaries list 云 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 云?
The traditional form of 云 is 雲. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 云 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 云 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 云 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
What does 人云亦云 mean?
人云亦云 (rén yún yì yún) means "to repeat what others say" without thinking for yourself. Here 云 keeps its classical meaning "to say."
Is there a difference between 云 and 云彩?
Both mean cloud. 云彩 (yúncai) is more colloquial and is used on its own in speech. 云 is the form that goes into compounds like 乌云 (wūyún) and 云层 (yúncéng).