凄 (qī) — (bound form) dreary; bleak; sorrowful

Definition

凄 is a bound morpheme that adds a bleak, sorrowful tone to another character (e.g. 凄惨, 凄凉, 凄婉). It is never used alone — pair it with 凉, 惨, or 婉 to describe mournful scenes, sounds, or feelings.

bound form
drearybleaksorrowful

Examples

  • ,。
    Dōng tiān de jǐng sè hěn qī liáng, ràng rén gǎn dào gū dān.
    The winter scenery is very bleak, making people feel lonely.
  • ,。
    Tā de jié jú fēi cháng qī cǎn, wú rén bù gǎn dào tòng xī.
    His ending was extremely tragic; everyone felt deep regret.
  • 凄,。
    Zhè shǒu qǔ zi xuán lǜ qī wǎn, tīng le ràng rén luò lèi.
    The melody of this tune is plaintively beautiful, moving listeners to tears.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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.

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