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寒冷 (hán lěng) — very cold; frigid (of weather or climate)

Definition

Intensifier form of 冷: 'very cold, frigid' for weather or winter. Stronger than plain 冷, milder than 严寒 (severe cold).

adjective
very coldfrigid (of weather or climate)

Examples

  • 寒冷。
    Jīn nián dōng tiān tè bié hán lěng.
    This winter is especially cold.
  • 寒冷。
    Cóng nán fāng lái de tóng xué bú tài xí guàn hán lěng de tiān qì.
    Students from the south aren't used to the cold weather.
  • 寒冷，。
    hán lěng De jì jié lǐ, zuì hǎo duō hē rè shuǐ.
    In the cold season, it's best to drink more hot water.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

寒háncold
冷lěngcold

寒 and 冷 both mean cold, together stressing very cold weather.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4Climate & SeasonsWeather

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