霜 meaning and stroke order
Frost; white powder or cream spread over a surface; frosting
How to write 霜, stroke by stroke
17 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 霜
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- frost
- white powder or cream spread over a surface
- frosting
- (skin) cream
How 霜 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Rain.
雨 gives the meaning and 相 hints at the sound.
Radical: 雨 (rain), shared by 42 characters on this site.
How to remember 霜
霜 is pictophonetic: 雨 (rain) on top marks weather and water, and 相 (xiāng) below hints at the sound shuāng. Picture rain that froze overnight and lies white on the ground.
Besides frost, 霜 names anything white and powdery or creamy spread on a surface, so it shows up in cosmetics and food words like 防晒霜 (fángshàishuāng, sunscreen) and 糖霜 (tángshuāng, icing). The idiom 雪上加霜 is common in speech and news: 他丢了工作，又生病了，真是雪上加霜。(Tā diū le gōngzuò, yòu shēngbìng le, zhēn shì xuěshàng-jiāshuāng.) He lost his job and then got sick, which made things even worse.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 霜 (shuāng) with 雪 (xuě, snow) and 露 (lù, dew), since all three sit under 雨. Also remember the bottom part is 相 even though the sound changes from xiāng to shuāng.
Common words with 霜
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
霜 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 霜
Learning 霜 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 霜
How many strokes are in 霜?
霜 is written with 17 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 霜 mean?
霜 (shuāng) means frost; white powder or cream spread over a surface; frosting. A common word with it is 雪上加霜 (xuěshàng-jiāshuāng), meaning "(idiom) to make matters even worse; to add insult to injury".
How do you pronounce 霜?
霜 is pronounced shuāng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 霜?
The radical of 霜 is 雨, which carries the idea of "rain". Dictionaries list 霜 under this radical.
Is 霜 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 霜 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 霜 and 雪?
雪 (xuě) is snow that falls from the sky. 霜 (shuāng) is frost that forms directly on cold surfaces like grass, leaves, or windows overnight.
Does 霜 mean cream in skincare products?
Yes. In product names 霜 means a thick cream, as in 面霜 (miànshuāng, face cream) or 防晒霜 (fángshàishuāng, sunscreen). Thinner products are usually called 乳 (rǔ, lotion).