TongTong
Sign in

凄凉 (qī liáng) — (of scenery or atmosphere) bleak, desolate; (of one's life, feelings) miserable, forlorn

Definition

Paints a bleak, desolate mood in scenery, atmosphere, or a person's life/feelings. 荒凉 is purely about a place being empty and wild; 萧条 adds an economic slump sense; 悲惨 and 辛酸 focus on human suffering rather than atmosphere.

adjective
(of scenery or atmosphere) bleakdesolate(of one's life, feelings) miserableforlorn

Examples

  • ，凄凉。
    Shēn qiū de gōng yuán lǐ yí piàn sù shā, xiǎn de shí fēn qī liáng.
    In the deep-autumn park, everything was grim and desolate, looking very bleak.
  • ，凄凉。
    Shī qù qīn rén hòu, tā de shēng huó biàn de hěn qī liáng.
    After losing his loved ones, his life became very miserable.
  • 凄凉。
    Zhè duàn yīn yuè ràng rén gǎn dào yì zhǒng shēn shēn de qī liáng.
    This piece of music makes people feel a deep sense of desolation.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

凄qīdesolate
凉liángcool

凄 and 凉 both carry bleakness and coldness, blending into a mournful, desolate feeling.

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
妻
妻qī凄qī
Same sound today

凄 combines 冫 (ice, written fully as 仌) to show cold with 妻 to give the sound.

Open 凄 →

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 涼; 凉 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
京
京jīng涼liáng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 涼 combines 氵 (water) with 京, which gives the sound; the simplified 凉 is a later abbreviation.

Open 凉 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Emotions & Feelings

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.