Meaning of 冷
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- cold
- surname Leng
How to use 冷
冷 (lěng) describes cold weather, cold food or drinks, and also cold, distant people, as in 冷漠 (lěngmò). It often follows 很 or 太 as a predicate. Example: 今天很冷。(Jīntiān hěn lěng.) It is cold today.
冷 is made of 冫, the two-dot ice radical, plus 令 (lìng), which gives the sound. Picture two drops of water freezing into ice next to an order 令 that says: it is cold.
Common mistake: Learners often write the left side with three dots as 氵 (water) instead of two dots 冫 (ice), which turns it into a different or nonexistent character. Also keep the third tone in lěng. Do not drift into lèng, which sounds like 愣 (dazed).
冷 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
冷 lěng · cold · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 冷.
| 冷静 | lěngjìng | calm; cool-headed; dispassionate; (of a place) deserted; quiet |
| 寒冷 | hánlěng | cold (climate); frigid |
| 冷水 | lěngshuǐ | cold water; unboiled water |
| 冷气 | lěngqì | cold air; air conditioning |
| 冷酷 | lěngkù | unfeeling; callous |
| 冷漠 | lěngmò | cold and detached towards sb; lack of regard |
| 冷冻 | lěngdòng | to freeze (food etc); (of weather) freezing |
| 冷淡 | lěngdàn | cold; indifferent |
| 冷战 | lěngzhàn | cold war; (fig.) strained relationship |
| 冷酷无情 | lěngkù-wúqíng | cold-hearted; unfeeling; callous |
| 冷落 | lěngluò | desolate; unfrequented |
| 冷笑 | lěngxiào | to sneer; to laugh grimly |
Questions about 冷
What does 冷 mean?
冷 (lěng) means "cold" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 冷?
冷 is made of 1 character: 冷 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 冷 an HSK word?
Yes. 冷 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 冷 and 凉?
冷 (lěng) means cold and is usually unpleasant, like winter weather. 凉 (liáng) means cool and is often pleasant, like 凉快 (liángkuai), nicely cool.
Can 冷 describe a person's attitude?
Yes. 他对我很冷 (tā duì wǒ hěn lěng) means he is cold toward me. Words like 冷漠 (lěngmò) and 冷酷 (lěngkù) carry this meaning more strongly. 冷静 (lěngjìng), however, is positive and means calm.