烟云 (yān yún) — mist and clouds; (figurative) transient things; the vanished past

Definition

Literary/poetic noun for 'mist and clouds', often used figuratively to mean things that vanish or are fleeting. More literary than the plain 云雾.

noun
mist and clouds(figurative) transient thingsthe vanished past

Examples

  • 烟云。
    Yuǎn chù de yān yún lǒng zhào zhe qún shān.
    The mist and clouds in the distance shroud the mountains.
  • 烟云，。
    Wǎng shì rú yān yún, zǎo yǐ xiāo sàn zài jì yì lǐ.
    Past events are like mist and clouds — already dissipated in memory.
  • 烟云。
    Míng lì duì tā lái shuō bú guò shì guò yǎn yān yún.
    Fame and fortune are just passing clouds to him.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

烟yānmist
云yúncloud

“烟” and “云” are parallel drifting images, together suggesting mist, clouds, and transience.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 煙; 烟 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 烟 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (烟) it is 煙; in others it is 菸.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
垔
垔yīn煙yān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

This story is about the traditional form 煙, not the simplified 烟. It pairs 火, fire, with 垔, which gives the sound.

Open 烟 →

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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