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阴冷 (yīn lěng) — (of weather or a place) gloomy and cold, raw; (of a person's expression or atmosphere) somber, glum, cold

Definition

Describes weather or a place that is darkly, damply cold — colder and more uncomfortable than just 冷. Also used for a person's expression or mood: cold and grim.

adjective
(of weather or a place) gloomy and coldraw(of a person's expression or atmosphere) somberglumcold

Examples

  • 阴冷，。
    Zhè ge dì xià shì yòu yīn lěng yòu cháo shī, dài jiǔ le hěn nán shòu.
    This basement is both gloomy-cold and damp; it’s uncomfortable to stay long.
  • 阴冷，。
    Tā shuō huà de shēng yīn hěn yīn lěng, ràng rén bù gǎn jiē jìn.
    His voice sounded so cold and grim that people dared not approach him.
  • 阴冷，。
    Dōng tiān de běi fāng tiān qì yīn lěng, chū mén yào chuān hòu yī fu.
    In winter the northern weather is raw and cold; you need to wear thick clothes when going out.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

阴yīngloomy
冷lěngcold

阴 means gloomy and 冷 means cold, giving raw, somber coldness.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 陰; 阴 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阜阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
侌
侌yīn陰yīn
Same sound today

The traditional form 陰 combines 阜, the meaning part, with 侌, the sound part. The simplified 阴 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 阴 →

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 →
Appears in
Weather

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