乌云 (wū yún) — dark cloud; black cloud

Definition

Dark, threatening storm clouds (literally 'black cloud'). Distinct from 风云, which refers to weather patterns or, figuratively, turbulent times.

noun

dark cloudblack cloud

Measure word · 朵

乌云。
Yuǎn chù de wū yún yuè lái yuè jìn le.
The dark clouds in the distance are getting closer.
乌云，。
wū yún Zhē zhù le tài yáng, tiān àn le xià lái.
Dark clouds covered the sun, and the sky darkened.
乌云，。
Kàn dào wū yún, tā gǎn jǐn shōu qǐ le yī fu.
Seeing the dark clouds, he quickly took in the laundry.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

乌 black and 云 cloud describe a dark cloud.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 烏; 乌 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 烏 is a drawing of a bird. The simplified 乌 is a later abbreviation.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 雲; 云 is its simplified writing.

雨云雲

The traditional form 雲 is 雨 (rain) plus 云; 云 was the original writing for 'cloud', and 雨 was added to separate it from the borrowed sense 'to say'.

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