Where 冷 comes from
ice
- Meaning part
- 冫 (“ice”)
- Sound part
- 令 (“to order”)
How to write 冷 (lěng, “cold”)
冷 (lěng), an HSK 1 character, means “cold”. It pairs a meaning part, 冫 (“ice”), with a sound part, 令 (“to order”). On its own it is an HSK 1 word; it also forms 冷静 (“calm”), 寒冷 (“cold”) and 冷气 (“cold air”). Japanese reads it rei, “cool”, as a JLPT N3 kanji.
- Pinyin
- lěng
- Strokes
- 7
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 冫 (“ice”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
As a left-right character it splits into 冫 (“ice”, the radical), strokes 1–2; 令 (“to order”), strokes 3–7, written the left part first.
- top leftdown and right
- bottom leftupwards
- topdown and left
- topdown and right → rightwards
- centerdown and right
- centerrightwards → down and left
- bottomdown and right
Japanese and Chinese
The two models differ in shape, so our comparison does not claim an order; compare the numbered frames yourself (7 strokes in Japanese, 7 strokes in Chinese).
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| lěng third tone | cold | — | 冷静 寒冷 冷气 冷门 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 1 word
- Words with it
- 128 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 冷
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 冷 | lěng | cold HSK 1 |
| 冷静 冷靜 | lěngjìng | calm; cool-headed HSK 4 |
| 寒冷 | hánlěng | cold (climate); frigid HSK 4 |
| 冷气 冷氣 | lěngqì | cold air; air conditioning HSK 7-9 |
| 冷门 冷門 | lěngmén | a neglected branch; fig. a complete unknown who wins a competition HSK 7-9 |
| 冷却 冷卻 | lěngquè | to cool HSK 7-9 |
| 冷落 | lěngluò | desolate; unfrequented HSK 7-9 |
| 泼冷水 潑冷水 | pōlěngshuǐ | to pour cold water on; to dampen sb's enthusiasm HSK 7-9 |
| 忽冷忽热 忽冷忽熱 | hūlěng-hūrè | now hot, now cold; to alternate HSK 7-9 |
| 冷冻 冷凍 | lěngdòng | to freeze (food etc); freezing HSK 7-9 |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several characters: worksheet maker.
Keep going
HSK 1, in list order: