冷 lěng — cold
这杯茶已经冷了。Zhè bēi chá yǐ jīng lěng le.This cup of tea has gone cold.
Common words: 冷静 (lěng jìng)、寒冷 (hán lěng)、冷却 (lěng què)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "cold"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "cold", including 冷 (lěng), 寒 (hán), 凉 (liáng). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "cold" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 冷 (lěng), 寒 (hán), 凉 (liáng) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span lěng, hán, liáng — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 冷 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 冷 lěngcoldUseful words: 冷静, 寒冷
- 寒 háncold; poor; to trembleUseful words: 寒冷, 寒假
- 凉 liángcool; coldUseful words: 凉快, 凉水
Common words for these 3 "cold" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 冷 (lěng) — so "cold" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
冷静lěng jìngcalm; cool-headed; dispassionate; (of a place) deserted寒冷hán lěngcold (climate); frigid; very cold冷却lěng què(lit. and fig.) to cool寒冷hán lěngcold (climate); frigid; very cold寒假hán jiàwinter vacation严寒yán hánbitter cold; severe winter凉快liáng kuaipleasantly cool (weather etc); to cool oneself; to cool off; (Tw) (slang) (of clothing) scanty凉水liáng shuǐcool water; unboiled water着凉zháo liángto catch cold; Taiwan pr.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "cold".
寒 hán — cold; poor; to tremble
寒冷的冬天，大家都穿上了厚衣服。Hán lěng de dōng tiān, dà jiā dōu chuān shàng le hòu yī fu.In the cold winter, everyone puts on thick clothes.
Common words: 寒冷 (hán lěng)、寒假 (hán jià)、严寒 (yán hán)
凉 liáng — cool; cold
秋天的早晨，天气有些凉。Qiū tiān de zǎo chén, tiān qì yǒu xiē liáng.On an autumn morning, the weather is a bit cool.
Common words: 凉快 (liáng kuai)、凉水 (liáng shuǐ)、着凉 (zháo liáng)
All 3 characters
Open 冷、寒、凉 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.