多云
duō yún · HSK 2
cloudy (meteorology)
☁️ 多 = many + 云 = cloud → many clouds = cloudy
多 means many/much and 云 means cloud, so 多云 literally reads as many clouds — the standard weather-report term for cloudy skies. Compare 多雨 (rainy, many + rain) and 多雪 (snowy, many + snow).
多 — two 夕 (evening) stacked
多 originally depicted two pieces of meat (夕, a variant of 肉) stacked together, suggesting abundance. Over time it was reanalyzed as two 'evenings' piled up — many evenings meaning many days, hence 'many, much'. The doubling itself conveys quantity.
云 — top 一 + 厶 (swirling cloud shape)
Originally a pictograph of a swirling cloud, written 云 in oracle bones. Later 雨 (rain) was added on top to form 雲, clarifying the weather meaning. In simplified Chinese, 云 was restored as the standard form and also serves as a literary verb meaning 'to say'.