冰雨 (bīng yǔ) — freezing rain; sleet; (figurative) a cold, bitter rain (often used in emotional or poetic contexts)

Definition

Literally 'ice rain': freezing rain (rain that freezes on contact) — a colder, icier variant of ordinary 雨. Often used as a poetic image for heartbreak or bitter emotion (e.g., the famous song 冰雨).

noun
freezing rainsleet(figurative) a coldbitter rain (often used in emotional or poetic contexts)
Measure word · 场

Examples

  • 冰雨，。
    Wài miàn xià zhe bīng yǔ, lù shang yí gè rén yě méi yǒu.
    It's sleeting outside, and there's no one on the road.
  • 《冰雨》，。
    Nà shǒu gē jiào 《bīng yǔ》, chàng de shì shī liàn de xīn qíng.
    That song is called 'Freezing Rain'; it's about the feeling of a broken heart.
  • 冰雨，。
    bīng yǔ Dǎ zài liǎn shàng, yòu lěng yòu téng.
    The freezing rain hit my face, both cold and painful.

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bīngice
雨yǔrain

冰 suggests icy coldness, and 雨 is rain, so it names freezing rain or sleet.

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
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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 雨 is an old picture of a cloud with rain drops falling from it; the top line was added later.

Open 雨 →

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