Chinese word

冰山

Pronunciation

Pinyinbīng shān

Meaning

  • nouniceberg

Example

船靠近了冰山，很危险。chuán kào jìn le bīng shān hěn wēi xiǎn

It was very dangerous when the ship approached the iceberg.

Illustration for 冰山 (iceberg)

More examples

大块冰山在海面上缓慢漂移。dà kuài bīng shān zài hǎi miàn shàng huǎn màn piāo yí

A large iceberg is slowly drifting on the surface of the sea.

Core concept

A huge mass of ice rises from the sea like a mountain while most of its bulk stays below the surface.

Common phrases

  • 冰山漂移bīng shān piāo yí

    iceberg drifts

  • 冰山断裂bīng shān duàn liè

    iceberg breaks apart

Similar words

冰块bīng kuài: A small, broken piece of ice is placed in drinks or found in ponds and rivers.
浮冰fú bīng: A piece of ice that has broken away floats across the surface of the sea or a river.
冰川bīng chuān: A large body of ice moves slowly through mountainous or highland areas.
冰盖bīng gài: A wide, thick ice layer spreads across and covers polar or highland regions.

Definition in Chinese

由冰川或海冰形成的大块冰体，部分露出水面，多数位于水下，能对船只造成威胁。yóu bīng chuān huò hǎi bīng xíng chéng de dà kuài bīng tǐ bù fèn lù chū shuǐ miàn duō shù wèi yú shuǐ xià néng duì chuán zhī zào chéng wēi xié

Word origin

冰 (bīng, "ice") + 山 (shān, "mountain") names an ice mass whose visible peak resembles a mountain, giving the word its literal sense.

Usage tips

  • For this noun, Chinese commonly uses 座 (zuò, "classifier for large fixed structures") to present the formation as mountain-sized, while 块 (kuài, "piece") presents it as a mass of ice.

Word lists with this word