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严寒 (yán hán) — bitter cold, severe (of weather or winter)

Definition

严寒 means bitter, severe cold — used only for weather or winter, much stronger than 寒冷. Don't confuse with 严重 (serious) or 严厉 (strict, of people/rules).

adjective
bitter coldsevere (of weather or winter)

Examples

  • 严寒，。
    Zài yán hán de dōng tiān, dà jiā dōu bú yuàn yì chū mén.
    In the bitter cold winter, no one wants to go out.
  • 严寒。
    Zhè lǐ de yán hán ràng rén wú fǎ shì yìng.
    The bitter cold here makes it hard for people to get used to.
  • 严寒，。
    Jǐn guǎn wài miàn yán hán, tā hái shì jiān chí měi tiān pǎo bù.
    Even though it's bitterly cold outside, he still insists on running every day.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

严yánsevere
寒háncold

“严” means severe and “寒” means cold, so together they describe bitter cold.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 嚴; 严 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
喦喦yántalkative
Sound part声符shēngfú
敢
敢gǎn嚴yán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 嚴 combines 喦 (talkative) and 敢 (daring); the simplified 严 is a later shorthand.

Open 严 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 宀宀miánhouse
  • 人人rénperson
  • 茻茻mǎnggrass

寒 shows 宀 (house), 人 (person), and 茻 (grass): a person sleeping in grass inside a house to keep out the cold.

Open 寒 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Climate & SeasonsWeather

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