冷落 (lěng luò) — (adjective) desolate, unfrequented, deserted; (verb) to treat coldly, to snub, to give the cold shoulder

Definition

Covers both senses: an unfrequented place (like 荒凉, 偏僻) AND, as a verb, snubbing someone — which is what it has in common with 冷淡's verb sense (give the cold shoulder). Both are interchangeable as verbs; as an adjective of place 冷落 is closer to 荒凉.

adjective
desolateunfrequenteddeserted
verb
to treat coldlyto snubto give the cold shoulder

Examples

  • 冷落，。
    Zhè tiáo jiē hěn lěng luò, wǎn shàng jī hū méi yǒu xíng rén.
    This street is very deserted — there are almost no pedestrians at night.
  • ，冷落。
    Tā yīn wèi xīn qíng bù hǎo, suǒ yǐ lěng luò le suǒ yǒu péng you.
    Because he was in a bad mood, he snubbed all his friends.
  • 冷落，。
    Tā zài gōng sī lǐ zǒng shì bèi tóng shì lěng luò, jué de hěn gū dú.
    She is always cold-shouldered by her colleagues at work and feels very lonely.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

冷lěngcold
落luòfallen

冷 and 落 both suggest chill and decline, giving desolate or to snub.

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
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 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
洛
洛luò落luò
Same sound today

落 pairs 艹 with 洛; 洛 gives the sound, and 艹 relates to the meaning.

Open 落 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Emotions & Feelings

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