TraceHanzi

寒冷 meaning in English

hánlěng

cold (climate); frigid

HSK 4adjective19 strokes

Meaning of 寒冷

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

hánlěng
  1. cold (climate)
  2. frigid
  3. very cold

How to use 寒冷

寒冷 is usually used for weather, climates, seasons and places. It sounds more formal or written than plain 冷. Example: 北方的冬天很寒冷。(Běifāng de dōngtiān hěn hánlěng.) Winters in the north are very cold.

寒 (hán) is the cold you find in 寒假 (hánjià), winter vacation. 冷 (lěng) is the everyday word for cold. Put the two together and you get a stronger, more formal "very cold."

Common mistake: Learners sometimes use 寒冷 for cold objects like drinks or water. For those, use 冷 or 凉, as in 冷水 (lěngshuǐ), cold water. Also keep the tones straight: hán is second tone and lěng is third tone.

寒冷 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

一yī些xiē植zhí物wù无wú法fǎ适shì应yìng寒hán冷lěng。
Some plants cannot adapt themselves to the cold.
天tiān气qì很hěn寒hán冷lěng，雨yǔ也yě很hěn多duō。
The weather was not only cold, but also wet.
这zhè是shì一yí个gè寒hán冷lěng的de早zǎo晨chén。
It's a chilly morning.
我wǒ觉jué得de在zài寒hán冷lěng的de早zǎo晨chén很hěn难nán早zǎo起qǐ。
I find it hard to get up early on cold mornings.
北běi海hǎi道dào并bìng不bù总zǒng是shì寒hán冷lěng。
It is not always cold in Hokkaido.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

寒 hán · chilly · 12 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12

冷 lěng · cold · 7 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7

Related words

Words that share a character with 寒冷.

冷静lěngjìngcalm; cool-headed; dispassionate; (of a place) deserted; quiet
寒假hánjiàwinter vacation
冷水lěngshuǐcold water; unboiled water
冷气lěngqìcold air; air conditioning
冷酷lěngkùunfeeling; callous
冷漠lěngmòcold and detached towards sb; lack of regard
冷冻lěngdòngto freeze (food etc); (of weather) freezing
冷淡lěngdàncold; indifferent
冷战lěngzhàncold war; (fig.) strained relationship
冷酷无情lěngkù-wúqíngcold-hearted; unfeeling; callous
冷落lěngluòdesolate; unfrequented
冷笑lěngxiàoto sneer; to laugh grimly

Questions about 寒冷

What does 寒冷 mean?

寒冷 (hánlěng) means "cold (climate); frigid" and is used as a adjective.

How do you write 寒冷?

寒冷 is made of 2 characters: 寒 (12 strokes), 冷 (7 strokes). That is 19 strokes in total.

Is 寒冷 an HSK word?

Yes. 寒冷 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 寒冷 and 冷?

冷 is the common spoken word and works for weather, objects and feelings, as in 我很冷 (wǒ hěn lěng), I'm cold. 寒冷 is more formal and mostly describes weather or environments.

Can 寒冷 describe a cold, unfriendly person?

Not usually. For a cold personality, Chinese uses words like 冷漠 (lěngmò), cold and detached, or 冷酷 (lěngkù), callous.

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