雲

On'yomi

ウン

Kun'yomi

くも・-ぐも

kumo / gumo

cloud

nature

Details

Strokes12

Frequency#1256

Radical雨rain(8)

Stroke Order

Strokes12

Component Breakdown

雲=

雨云

top-bottom: rain + 云

Cultural Context

Etymology

Composed of rain and say. Cloud that speaks rain.

Symbolism

Cloud, weather, change. Represents change in sky.

Related Culture & Scenes

— Mountain floating above clouds

Seasonal

Shapes change with seasons: thunderhead clouds for summer, mackerel sky for autumn. Cloud observation is ancient wisdom for knowing seasons.

Words & Expressions

Four-Character Compounds

雲散霧消

うんさんむしょう

vanishing like mist; vanishing like mist

行雲流水

こううんりゅうすい

(metaphorically) floating with the tide; (metaphorically) floating with the tide

暗雲低迷

あんうんていめい

gathering dark clouds; being under the shadow of; gathering dark clouds

雲煙万里

うんえんばんり

limitless expanse of clouds and smoke; limitless expanse of clouds and smoke

雲泥万里

うんでいばんり

being poles apart; (there being) all the difference in the world; being poles apart

雲雨巫山

うんうふざん

sexual liaison; sexual liaison

雲煙過眼

うんえんかがん

not being obsessed with something very long (just as clouds and haze pass swiftly before one's eyes); not being obsessed with something very long (just as clouds and haze pass swiftly before one's eyes)

雲集霧散

うんしゅうむさん

(many things) gathering like clouds and vanishing like mist; swarming and scattering; (many things) gathering like clouds and vanishing like mist

雲水行脚

うんすいあんぎゃ

itinerant monk being on pilgrimages to many lands; itinerant monk being on pilgrimages to many lands

閑雲野鶴

かんうんやかく

life in natural setting, free from worldly cares; life in natural setting, free from worldly cares

朝雲暮雨

ちょううんぼう

sexual liaison; morning clouds and evening rain; sexual liaison

富貴浮雲

ふうきふうん

riches and honors are as fleeting as floating clouds; fortune and fame are here today, gone tomorrow; riches and honors are as fleeting as floating clouds

巫山雲雨

ふざんうんう

sexual liaison; sexual liaison

翻雲覆雨

ほんうんふくう

fickle friendship; fickle friendship

雲煙飛動

うんえんひどう

flying clouds and drifting haze; magnificent calligraphy; vivid penmanship; flying clouds and drifting haze

月卿雲客

げっけいうんかく

court nobles and other courtiers allowed into the Imperial Palace; court nobles and other courtiers allowed into the Imperial Palace

籠鳥恋雲

ろうちょうれんうん

longing for freedom when tied down; caged bird's longing for the open sky; longing for freedom when tied down

雲消霧散

うんしょうむさん

vanishing like mist; vanishing like mist

飛竜乗雲

ひりゅうじょううん

hero that seizes the moment and rises; a dragon soaring through the clouds; hero that seizes the moment and rises

雲外蒼天

うんがいそうてん

light at the end of the tunnel; relief after overcoming hardship; open sky beyond the clouds; light at the end of the tunnel

Proverbs & Idioms

雲を掴むような話

くもをつかむようなはなし

Like grasping at clouds

A vague and intangible story