坚冰 (jiān bīng) — hard ice, solid ice (literal, literary); (figurative) entrenched obstacles, frozen barriers, hardened resistance

Definition

Literary word: literally 'hard/solid ice,' but most often used figuratively for entrenched obstacles or frozen barriers between people. Common in set phrases like 打破坚冰 ('break the ice' of a standoff).

noun
hard icesolid ice (literal, literary)(figurative) entrenched obstaclesfrozen barriershardened resistance
Measure word · 块
Easily confused

Examples

  • 坚冰。
    Liǎng guó guān xì zhōng yú dǎ pò le jiān bīng.
    The bilateral relationship finally broke the ice (entrenched stalemate).
  • 坚冰。
    Gǎi gé de lù shang chōng mǎn le jiān bīng.
    The road of reform is full of hardened obstacles.
  • ，坚冰。
    Chūn tiān lái le, dà dì shàng de jiān bīng kāi shǐ róng huà.
    Spring came, and the hard ice on the ground began to melt.

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.

坚jiānhard
冰bīngice

坚 means hard, 冰 means ice, so the word denotes hard ice.

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 堅; 坚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
臤
臤qiān堅jiān
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 堅 pairs 臤, giving the sound, with 土, earth, giving the sense; the simplified 坚 is a later shorthand.

Open 坚 →

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
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
冫
仌bīng冰bīng
Same sound today

冰 adds 水 (water) to 冫, the short form of 仌; 冫 gives the sound, and 水 shows the meaning.

Open 冰 →

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