雲 – Kanji Meaning, Reading, and Common Words

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What does 雲 mean in Japanese?

雲 means “cloud.” On its own it is read くも (kumo).

It also appears in weather words such as 雨雲 (amagumo, rain clouds).

Reading

On’yomi: ウン (un)

Kun’yomi: くも (kumo)

Basic Information

Kanji 雲
Meaning cloud
Stroke Count 12
JLPT Level N4

How to Understand This Kanji

雲 names the cloud itself. 雲行き (kumoyuki) means how the clouds are moving, and it is also used figuratively for how a situation seems to be going, as in 雲行きが怪しい (things are not looking good).

Common Words

  • 雲（くも / kumo） — cloud
  • 雨雲（あまぐも / amagumo） — rain cloud
  • 入道雲（にゅうどうぐも / nyuudougumo） — tall summer cloud, thunderhead
  • 雲海（うんかい / unkai） — sea of clouds
  • 雲行き（くもゆき / kumoyuki） — the look of the sky; how things are going
  • 雪雲（ゆきぐも / yukigumo） — snow cloud

Example Sentences

  • 空に白い雲が浮かんでいます。

    そらにしろいくもがうかんでいます。 / Sora ni shiroi kumo ga ukande imasu.

    White clouds are floating in the sky.

  • 黒い雨雲が出てきたので、早く帰りましょう。

    くろいあまぐもがでてきたので、はやくかえりましょう。 / Kuroi amagumo ga dete kita node, hayaku kaerimashou.

    Dark rain clouds are coming in, so let’s head home soon.

  • 山の上から雲海が見えました。

    やまのうえからうんかいがみえました。 / Yama no ue kara unkai ga miemashita.

    From the top of the mountain, we could see a sea of clouds.

Related Kanji

  • 雨

    — 雨 (rain) shares the rain radical with 雲 and combines with it in 雨雲 (amagumo), rain clouds.

  • 雪

    — 雪 (snow) also has the rain radical and combines with 雲 in 雪雲 (yukigumo), snow clouds.

  • 空

    — 空 (sky) is where clouds appear, as in 空に雲が浮かぶ (clouds float in the sky).

When Learners Usually See This Kanji

The top part of 雲 is the rain radical, あめかんむり, which also appears in 雪 (snow) and 電 (electricity). Compare 雲 with 曇 (cloudy), which adds 日 on top.

Summary

Read 雲 as くも on its own, expect ぐも in compounds such as 雨雲, and use 曇り for a cloudy day.

Want to study more JLPT N4 kanji by theme? See our JLPT N4 Kanji Study List.