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阴云 (yīn yún) — dark clouds (in the sky); (figurative) gloomy atmosphere, ominous signs

Definition

Literary term for 'dark clouds' — most often used figuratively for a gloomy, ominous atmosphere (war, crisis, tension). The literal sky-cloud sense is less common in modern prose than this metaphorical one.

noun
dark clouds (in the sky)(figurative) gloomy atmosphereominous signs
Measure word · 片

Examples

  • 阴云，。
    Tiān kōng bù mǎn le yīn yún, kàn lái yào xià yǔ le.
    The sky is covered with dark clouds; it looks like it's going to rain.
  • 阴云，。
    Gōng sī zuì jìn lǒng zhào zài yí piàn yīn yún zhī zhōng, dà jiā dōu hěn jǐn zhāng.
    The company has been shrouded in dark clouds lately; everyone is very tense.
  • 阴云，。
    Zhàn zhēng de yīn yún zhú jiàn sàn qù, hé píng zhōng yú dào lái.
    The dark clouds of war gradually dispersed, and peace finally arrived.

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.

阴yīndark/cloudy
云yúncloud

阴 suggests dark or cloudy, and 云 means cloud, together giving dark clouds.

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 陰; 阴 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阜阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
侌
侌yīn陰yīn
Same sound today

The traditional form 陰 combines 阜, the meaning part, with 侌, the sound part. The simplified 阴 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 阴 →

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
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