凄 meaning and stroke order
Bitter cold, miserable, dreary
How to write 凄, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
Meaning of 凄
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- intense cold
- frigid
- dismal
- grim
- bleak
- sad
How 凄 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Ice.
冫 gives the meaning and 妻 hints at the sound.
Radical: 冫 (ice), shared by 26 characters on this site.
How to remember 凄
The two-stroke ice radical 冫 sits beside 妻 (qī, wife), which gives the sound. Picture a wife left out in the ice, and you get the feeling of bitter cold and misery that 凄 (qī) describes.
凄 is rarely used alone in modern Chinese. It appears mostly in two-character words that describe sad, bleak scenes or feelings, such as 凄凉 (qīliáng) and 凄惨 (qīcǎn). Example: 他的晚年很凄凉。(Tā de wǎnnián hěn qīliáng.) His old age was very lonely and bleak.
Common mistake: Learners often write 凄 with three dots 氵 instead of the two-dot ice radical 冫, because the traditional form 淒 does use 氵. In simplified Chinese the correct form has only two dots on the left.
Common words with 凄
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 凄凉 | qīliáng | mournful; miserable | HSK 7-9 |
| 凄惨 | qīcǎn | plaintive; mournful |
凄 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 凄
How many strokes are in 凄?
凄 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 凄 mean?
凄 (qī) means bitter cold, miserable, dreary. A common word with it is 凄凉 (qīliáng), meaning "mournful; miserable".
How do you pronounce 凄?
凄 is pronounced qī, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 凄?
The radical of 凄 is 冫, which carries the idea of "ice". Dictionaries list 凄 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 凄?
The traditional form of 凄 is 悽 and 淒. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 凄 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 凄 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 凄 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 凄凉 and 凄惨?
凄凉 (qīliáng) stresses loneliness and desolation, like an empty street or a lonely old age. 凄惨 (qīcǎn) is stronger and points to tragic suffering, like a terrible accident or a pitiful cry.
Is 凄 related to 妻 (qī) in meaning?
No. Here 妻 only gives the sound qī. The meaning of cold and gloom comes from the ice radical 冫 on the left.