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The simplified character 昙 (traditional 曇) is composed of the sun radical 日 on top and the cloud component 云 (雲 in traditional) below. This configuration depicts the sun hidden behind clouds, and 云 also indicates the pronunciation while reinforcing the meaning. Initially, it referred to densely overcast skies with dark clouds obscuring the sunlight. Today, this meteorological sense is largely obsolete; the character now appears almost exclusively in 昙花 (tánhuā), the night-blooming cereus, a flower famed for blooming briefly at night.
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