冷
cold
lěng
What does 冷 mean?
冷 (lěng) is the basic adjective for 'cold' — used for weather, rooms, food, drinks, and even, metaphorically, for people. Unlike English 'cold,' Chinese adjectives don't take 'is' before them: '今天很冷' (lit. 'today very cold') is a complete sentence — no 是 needed. With body sensation, you usually pair it with the pronoun: 我很冷 = 'I'm cold.' 冷 also extends to non-temperature uses: 冷笑 ('cold laugh' = sneer), 冷静 ('cool-headed; calm'), 冷场 ('awkward silence'). For food/drinks that are deliberately served cold, Chinese often prefers 凉 (liáng) — 凉水 ('cool water'), 凉菜 ('cold dish') — because 冷 can imply 'unpleasantly cold' or 'gone cold,' while 凉 is neutrally 'cool.' Knowing 冷 vs 凉 is the main thing that separates beginner English speakers from intermediate ones on this concept.
Character breakdown
cold. The left radical 冫 is 'ice' (two dots representing frozen water drops); the right side is phonetic.
Memory hook: Two ice-dots (冫) on the left = ice = 冷, cold.
Example sentences
今天很冷。
Jīntiān hěn lěng.
It's cold today.
spoken
我有点冷。
Wǒ yǒudiǎn lěng.
I'm a bit cold.
spoken
请喝热水，不要喝冷水。
Qǐng hē rè shuǐ, búyào hē lěng shuǐ.
Please drink hot water, not cold water.
neutral
北京的冬天很冷。
Běijīng de dōngtiān hěn lěng.
Winters in Beijing are very cold.
neutral
Common phrases with 冷
Synonyms
凉 is 'cool' — pleasantly cool or mildly cool, not bone-chilling. Use 凉 for cool breezes, cool drinks (凉水), or food meant to be eaten cold. Use 冷 for winter weather or things that are unpleasantly cold.
寒 means 'cold' too but is literary/written, mostly appearing in compounds (寒冷, 寒假 = 'winter vacation'). For spoken sentences about cold weather, always use 冷.
Don't confuse 冷 with
冰 is the noun/adjective 'ice' or 'icy.' 冰水 ('iced water') is colder than 冷水 ('cold water'). 冷 describes temperature; 冰 implies actual ice.
凉 is 'cool / mildly cold' (often desirable). 冷 is 'cold' (often a complaint). Iced drinks: 凉的. Snowy weather: 冷.