Origin

The character combines two elements: on the right is 鬼, which depicts a ghost or supernatural being and serves as the classifier showing this character relates to spiritual entities. On the left, 云 provides a sound hint suggesting the pronunciation. Together, the ghost classifier paired with this sound hint creates a character that means soul or spirit — the invisible, ghostly essence believed to inhabit or leave the body. This combination of a meaningful classifier with a phonetic indicator is a common way Chinese and Japanese characters were built.