凉 meaning and stroke order
Cool; cold
How to write 凉, 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
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- 5
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- 10
Meaning of 凉
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- cool
- cold
- to let sth cool down
How 凉 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Ice.
冫 gives the meaning and 京 hints at the sound.
Radical: 冫 (ice), shared by 26 characters on this site.
How to remember 凉
The two drops on the left, 冫, mean ice, and 京 (jīng) on the right gives the sound. Picture ice sitting beside the capital city 京 to cool it down, and you get 凉 (liáng), cool.
凉 describes a pleasant or slightly unpleasant coolness, milder than 冷 (lěng). It appears in everyday words like 凉快 (liángkuai), 凉水 (liángshuǐ) and 凉鞋 (liángxié). Example: 今天很凉快。(Jīntiān hěn liángkuai.) It is nice and cool today.
Common mistake: Learners often write three drops 氵 instead of two drops 冫 on the left, which is the traditional form 涼. In simplified Chinese, 凉 uses the ice radical 冫, just like 冷 (lěng) and 冰 (bīng).
Common words with 凉
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 凉快 | liángkuai | pleasantly cool (weather etc); to cool oneself; to cool off | HSK 2 |
| 凉水 | liángshuǐ | cool water; unboiled water | HSK 3 |
| 凉鞋 | liángxié | sandal | HSK 6 |
| 凉爽 | liángshuǎng | cool and refreshing | HSK 7-9 |
| 荒凉 | huāngliáng | desolate | HSK 7-9 |
| 凄凉 | qīliáng | mournful; miserable | HSK 7-9 |
| 清凉 | qīngliáng | cool; refreshing | HSK 7-9 |
| 着凉 | zháoliáng | to catch cold; Taiwan pr. [zhao1 liang2] | |
| 冰凉 | bīngliáng | ice-cold | |
| 冲凉 | chōngliáng | (dialect) to take a shower |
凉 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 凉
How many strokes are in 凉?
凉 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 凉 mean?
凉 (liáng) means cool; cold. A common word with it is 凉快 (liángkuai), meaning "pleasantly cool (weather etc); to cool oneself; to cool off".
How do you pronounce 凉?
凉 is pronounced liáng, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 凉?
The radical of 凉 is 冫, which carries the idea of "ice". Dictionaries list 凉 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 凉?
The traditional form of 凉 is 涼. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 凉 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 凉 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 凉 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
What is the difference between 凉 and 冷?
凉 (liáng) means cool, often pleasantly so, like a breeze or cool water. 冷 (lěng) means cold and usually uncomfortable. A chilly autumn day is 凉, a freezing winter day is 冷.
When is 凉 read liàng?
As a verb meaning to let something cool down, it is read liàng, as in 把汤凉一凉 (bǎ tāng liàng yi liàng), let the soup cool a bit. In almost all other words it is liáng.