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白云 (bái yún) — white cloud

Definition

noun
white cloud
Measure word · 朵

Examples

  • 白云。
    Tiān kōng zhōng yǒu jǐ duǒ bái yún.
    There are a few white clouds in the sky.
  • ，白云。
    Jīn tiān de tiān kōng hěn lán, bái yún fēi cháng piào liang.
    Today's sky is very blue, and the white clouds are very beautiful.
  • 白云。
    Nà duǒ bái yún xiàng yì zhī xiǎo yáng.
    That white cloud looks like a little sheep.

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.

白báiwhite
云yúncloud

白 (white) + 云 (cloud) simply describes a white cloud.

Characters in this word

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

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

Open 白 →

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 →
Appears in
Weather

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