About
The character 昙 (traditional: 曇) combines the "sun" radical 日 at the top as the semantic element with the "cloud" component 云 (traditional: 雲) at the bottom, which serves as both a phonetic and secondary semantic element. Originally, it described a heavily overcast sky, where dark clouds obscured the sun. Today, this meteorological sense is rare; the character is primarily used in the word "昙花" (tánhuā), meaning the epiphyllum, a flower known for its brief nocturnal bloom.
Etymology Hide
