冷艳 (lěng yàn) — coldly beautiful; elegantly aloof (of a woman's appearance and demeanor)

Definition

Literary word for a woman who is stunningly beautiful but cold and unapproachable — combines 冷 (cold, aloof) with 艳 (gorgeous). Used in writing about appearance and bearing, not everyday speech.

adjective
coldly beautifulelegantly aloof (of a woman's appearance and demeanor)

Examples

  • 冷艳，。
    Tā shì yí wèi lěng yàn de nǚ míng xīng, hěn shǎo zài gōng zhòng chǎng hé xiào.
    She is a coldly beautiful movie star who rarely smiles in public.
  • 冷艳，。
    Xiǎo shuō lǐ de nǚ zhǔ jué qì zhì lěng yàn, ràng rén bù gǎn jiē jìn.
    The heroine in the novel has an aloof elegance that makes people afraid to approach.
  • 冷艳。
    Tā de lěng yàn zhī měi xī yǐn le hěn duō rén de mù guāng.
    Her cold beauty attracted many people's attention.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

冷lěngcold
艳yànbeautiful

Both 冷 and 艳 describe parallel qualities: cold aloofness and beauty.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
冫Written in full as仌bīngice
Sound part声符shēngfú
令
令lìng冷lěng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

冷 uses 冫, the ice form, with 令 as a sound part, to mean cold as ice.

Open 冷 →

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 豔; 艳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
豐豐fēngabundant, great
Sound part声符shēngfú
盇
盇hé豔yàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 豔 pairs 豐 (abundant, great) with a sound component 盇; the simplified 艳 is a later abbreviation.

Open 艳 →

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