Chinese Tattoo 云: Meaning, Strokes & Design Guide
The character 云 means "say, speak; clouds" and is pronounced yún. Below: its structure, the words it appears in, and how it works as a tattoo.
Quick facts
| Character | 云 |
| Pinyin | yún |
| Meaning | say, speak; clouds |
| Strokes | 4 |
| Radical | ⼆ (No. 7) |
| HSK level | newest-4 |
Words that contain 云
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 多云 | duō yún | cloudy (meteorology) | new-2 |
| 风云 | fēng yún | weather | newest-7 |
| 乌云 | wū yún | black cloud | newest-7 |
| 上云 | shang4 yun2 | (computing) to migrate to the cloud | — |
| 云云 | yun2 yun2 | and so on | — |
| 凌云 | ling2 yun2 | (lit. and fig.) towering; lofty; high | — |
Words and levels: HSK vocabulary list · meanings: CC-CEDICT.
Placing 云
云 is only 4 strokes, so it stays readable even small — but a simple character shows every wobble. There is nowhere to hide a shaky line here, so line weight and steady spacing matter more than with a dense character. Bring the stencil together with the pinyin and the meaning, and ask the artist to follow the stencil rather than redrawing the character freehand — freehand redrawing is the most common way a correct character loses a stroke and becomes a different one.
Design notes for 云
云 appears both on its own and inside compounds, so the sense depends on context; here it reads “say, speak; clouds”. Regular script (楷书) keeps every stroke countable, which matters when a Chinese reader checks it. Avoid mirroring or rotating the character, and avoid very fine or cursive styles at small sizes, where strokes merge into a shape that reads as a different character.
Frequently asked questions
What does 云 mean?
云 (yún) means “say, speak; clouds”.
How is 云 pronounced?
云 is pronounced yún in Mandarin.
How many strokes does 云 have?
云 has 4 strokes, under the ⼆ radical (No. 7).
How large should a 云 tattoo be?
With 4 strokes, 云 is open and holds detail well even at small sizes.
Which style works for 云?
Bold regular script (楷书) keeps the strokes clear. Semi-cursive (行书) adds flow but softens edges. Seal script looks classical but is harder for most readers to verify — use it only if a native reader has confirmed the rendering.
Is 云 common in modern Chinese?
Yes — 云 appears as a standalone HSK vocabulary item (newest-4), and in everyday words such as 多云、风云、乌云.
Should I use simplified or traditional 云?
云 is written the same in simplified and traditional Chinese, so there is no form to choose.
Want 云 as a ready-to-use stencil with a native-checked meaning card, sized for your tattoo artist?
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Character data: Unihan (Unicode) · words: HSK vocabulary & CC-CEDICT · How we verify this