寒气 (hán qì) — cold air, draft, or penetrating chill | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'cold qi' — refers to cold air, a draft, or (in TCM contexts) the chill that penetrates the body and causes illness, as in 受寒气 (catch a chill).

noun

cold airdraftor penetrating chill

Examples

寒气，。
Wài miàn hán qì hěn zhòng, duō chuān diǎn yī fu.
The cold air outside is strong; put on more clothes.
，寒气。
Tā gǎn mào le, yī shēng shuō shì yīn wèi tǐ nèi hán qì tài zhòng.
He caught a cold; the doctor said it's because there's too much cold energy in his body.
寒气，。
Dǎ kāi chuāng hu huì yǒu hán qì jìn lái, xiǎo xīn bú yào zháo liáng.
Opening the window will let in a draft; be careful not to catch a chill.

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.

寒 gives cold, 气 gives air, so the word means cold air or a chill.

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.

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 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

气米氣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

气

气qì氣qì

Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

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