冰凉 (bīng liáng) — ice-cold | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

adjective

ice-cold

Examples

冰凉，。
Zhè bēi shuǐ bīng liáng de, xià tiān hē zhèng hǎo.
This glass of water is ice-cold, perfect for summer.
冰凉，。
Tā mō dào bīng liáng de tiě mén, xià le yí tiào.
He touched the ice-cold iron door and got a fright.
冰凉。
Dōng tiān tā de shǒu dòng dé bīng liáng.
In winter her hands were frozen ice-cold.

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.

冰 means ice and 凉 means cool; together they describe something cold as 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.

冫水冰

Meaning part形符xíngfú

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.

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.

氵京涼

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.

Appears in

Texture & Quality

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