漢字Kanji · in Nature & Elements
冷: cool, cold (beer, person)
Also: chill
冫 carries the meaning · 令 gives the sound
Seven readings, and the words that use each
レイrei · on'yomi · in compounds
- 冷蔵庫れいぞうこrefrigerator
- 冷凍庫れいとうこfreezer
- 冷房れいぼうair-conditioning
- 冷静なれいせいなcalm
- 冷酷なれいこくなcruel
つめたいtsumetai · kun'yomi · on its own
- 冷たいつめたいcold
ひえるhieru · kun'yomi
- 冷えるひえるgrow cold [v.i.]
ひややかhiyayaka · kun'yomi
- 冷ややかなひややかなcold
ひやすhiyasu · kun'yomi
- 冷やすひやすcool [v.t.]
さめるsameru · kun'yomi
- 冷めるさめるbecome cool [v.i.]
さますsamasu · kun'yomi
- 冷ますさますlet cool [v.t.]
Also read ひや, ひやかす, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Phono-semantic compound (形聲)仌 ice, as 冫 (meaning) + 令 (sound)
Cold as ice.
Source: Wiktionary, 冷 (rev. 93188297), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Ice (冫) + command/order (令). To be "ordered" by the climate to turn into "ice"—the literal sensation of something being ice-cold.”
Connections
Also built on orders (令)
冷 takes the 令 family's reading, レイ (rei).
Easy to confuse
The difference, side by sideIn ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · lěng
Same form: 冷 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).
- Simplified
- 冷 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 冷 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin lěng most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.