冷

• Pinyin: lěng
• Hanzi breakdown: 冷 = 冫(ice radical) + 令 (phonetic component) — cold like ice

Meaning

Cold. Describes low temperature, either of weather or objects.

Used for weather (今天很冷), food and drinks (咖啡冷了), and figuratively for personality (他很冷 = he's cold/aloof). The opposite is 热 (hot). Common patterns: 冷不冷, 好冷, 太冷了.

Examples

1. 今天很冷。 It's very cold today.
2. 北京的冬天很冷。 Winter in Beijing is very cold.
3. 水太冷了。 The water is too cold.

Usage Guide

Context: weather, temperature, everyday

Tone: descriptive

Do Say

• 好冷啊！(It's so cold!)
• 你冷不冷？(Are you cold?)

Don't Say

• 天气是冷。(Don't use 是 with adjectives — say 天气很冷)

Origin & History

The character contains 冫(ice radical) on the left, directly indicating cold temperature, with a phonetic component on the right.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal