愁云 (chóu yún) — (figurative) a worried or sorrowful look; a cloud of anxiety on one's face

Definition

A literary/figurative noun meaning 'a cloud of worry or sorrow' on someone's face or over a situation — used in writing to paint a heavy, gloomy mood.

noun
(figurative) a worried or sorrowful looka cloud of anxiety on one's face

Examples

  • 愁云，。
    Tā liǎn shàng chóu yún mì bù, sì hū yǒu xīn shì.
    His face was covered with a gloomy cloud, as if he had something on his mind.
  • ，愁云。
    Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā chóu yún mǎn miàn.
    Hearing this news, her face was full of worry.
  • 愁云，。
    chóu yún Lǒng zhào zhe zhěng gè jiā tíng, qì fen shí fēn chén zhòng.
    A cloud of sorrow hung over the whole family, and the atmosphere was very heavy.

Origin

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.

愁chóusorrow
云yúncloud

愁 is sorrow, and 云 is cloud; together they picture heavy, depressing clouds or anxiety.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
秋
秋qiū愁chóu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

愁 combines 秋, which gives the sound, with 心, the heart.

Open 愁 →

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.

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'.

Open 云 →

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