冰

氷

bīng

冫 + 水

HSK 3.0Level 3

Definitions

bīng (noun) ice

bīng (verb) to freeze; to chill

bīng (adjective) cold; unfriendly

Etymology

Depicts chunks (冫) of frozen water (水).

About

The character 冰 denotes ice, frost, and the state of being frozen. It joins the left-side radical 冫, a pictograph of ice chunks and a semantic signal for cold, with the right side 水, meaning water. This combination directly illustrates water solidified by freezing temperatures. In earlier scripts, the concept was sometimes written with just 冫, but adding 水 created an explicit compound. Over time, the word expanded from its literal sense to describe extreme coldness, and metaphorically to a person's cold, aloof demeanor.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Early Warring States (~400 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我喜欢吃冰淇淋。

Wǒ xǐhuān chī bīngqílín.

I like to eat ice cream.

夏天吃冰淇淋很凉快。

Xiàtiān chī bīngqílín hěn liángkuai.

Eating ice cream in summer is very cool.

冰箱里有很多冰块。

Bīngxiāng lǐ yǒu hěn duō bīngkuài.

There are many ice cubes in the refrigerator.

滑冰是一项有趣的运动。

Huábīng shì yí xiàng yǒuqù de yùndòng.

Ice skating is an interesting sport.

湖面上结了一层厚厚的冰。

Hú miàn shàng jié le yì céng hòuhòu de bīng.

A thick layer of ice formed on the lake surface.

这种饮料需要加冰吗？

Zhè zhǒng yǐnliào xūyào jiā bīng ma?

Does this drink need ice?

冰的密度比水小。

Bīng de mìdù bǐ shuǐ xiǎo.

The density of ice is less than that of water.

他用冰块敷在伤口上来消肿。

Tā yòng bīngkuài fū zài shāngkǒu shàng lái xiāo zhǒng.

He applied ice cubes to the wound to reduce the swelling.

Related Characters

Component: 冫

Component: 水

冰