挨冻 (ái dòng) — to suffer from cold; to be freezing (due to cold weather or lack of heating)

Definition

A vivid colloquial verb meaning 'to freeze / suffer from the cold' — enduring cold exposure rather than a one-time chill. Here 挨 means 'to endure or suffer', not the common '挨打' sense of receiving a blow.

verb
to suffer from coldto be freezing (due to cold weather or lack of heating)

Examples

  • ，。
    Zuó tiān zài wài miàn děng chē, āi le yí xià wǔ dòng.
    Yesterday I waited for the bus outside and suffered from cold all afternoon.
  • ，，挨冻。
    Tiān qì zhè me lěng, nǐ chū mén jì de duō chuān yī fu, bié ái dòng.
    It's so cold — remember to dress warmly when you go out, don't freeze.
  • ，挨冻。
    Tā yīn wèi méi yǒu nuǎn qì, měi tiān wǎn shàng dōu ái dòng.
    Because he has no heating, he freezes every night.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

挨āisuffer
冻dòngfreezing

The action 挨 is to undergo or suffer, and 冻 is freezing, so it describes suffering from cold.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
矣
矣yǐ挨āi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

挨 pairs 扌, the hand form 手, with 矣, which gives the sound.

Open 挨 →

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 凍; 冻 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
冫Written in full as仌bīng
Sound part声符shēngfú
東
東dōng凍dòng
Same sound today

The traditional form 凍 pairs 冫 (ice) with 東 for the sound; the simplified 冻 is a later shorthand.

Open 冻 →

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