Meaning of 冷水
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- cold water
- unboiled water
How to use 冷水
冷水 refers to cold tap water or water that has not been boiled, which matters in China where people often drink boiled water. It also appears in the common phrase 泼冷水 (pō lěngshuǐ), meaning to discourage someone. 别给他泼冷水。(Bié gěi tā pō lěngshuǐ.) Don't pour cold water on his idea.
冷 (lěng) means cold and 水 (shuǐ) means water, so 冷水 is simply cold water. Picture the ice radical 冫 on the left of 冷 dripping into the flowing lines of 水.
Common mistake: Learners often write 冷 with three dots 氵 on the left, confusing it with the water radical. It takes the two-dot ice radical 冫. Also keep both syllables in third tone. When spoken, lěngshuǐ shifts to léngshuǐ.
冷水 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
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
水 shuǐ · water · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 冷水.
| 水果 | shuǐguǒ | fruit |
| 水平 | shuǐpíng | horizontal; level; a standard; a level (of ability, development etc) |
| 药水 | yàoshuǐ | medicine in liquid form; bottled medicine |
| 凉水 | liángshuǐ | cool water; unboiled water |
| 冷静 | lěngjìng | calm; cool-headed; dispassionate; (of a place) deserted; quiet |
| 寒冷 | hánlěng | cold (climate); frigid |
| 海水 | hǎishuǐ | seawater |
| 汽水 | qìshuǐ | soda pop; carbonated soft drink |
| 泪水 | lèishuǐ | teardrop; tears |
| 矿泉水 | kuàngquánshuǐ | mineral water |
| 开水 | kāishuǐ | boiled water; boiling water |
| 纯净水 | chúnjìngshuǐ | purified water |
Questions about 冷水
What does 冷水 mean?
冷水 (lěngshuǐ) means "cold water; unboiled water" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 冷水?
冷水 is made of 2 characters: 冷 (7 strokes), 水 (4 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 冷水 an HSK word?
Yes. 冷水 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 冷水 and 凉水?
Both can mean unboiled water. 凉水 (liángshuǐ) suggests cool or room temperature water. 冷水 sounds colder, like icy tap water or water for a cold shower.
How do I say I want to take a cold shower?
You can say 我想洗冷水澡 (wǒ xiǎng xǐ lěngshuǐ zǎo). The phrase 冷水澡 means a cold-water bath or shower.