Chinese word

冷酷

Pronunciation

Pinyinlěng kù

Meaning

  • adjectivecruel

Example

别对孩子那么冷酷，他们还小。bié duì hái zi nà me lěng kù tā men hái xiǎo

Don't be so cruel to the children; they're still young.

Illustration for 冷酷 (cruel)

More examples

在公司重组后，他对下属显得很冷酷。zài gōng sī chóng zǔ hòu tā duì xià shǔ xiǎn de hěn lěng kù

After the company restructuring, he seemed very cruel to his subordinates.

Core concept

Emotional coldness joined with a readiness to treat people harshly, without warmth or mercy.

Common phrases

  • 冷酷的判决lěng kù de pàn jué

    a cruel verdict

  • 冷酷的选择lěng kù de xuǎn zé

    a cruel choice

  • 对他人冷酷duì tā rén lěng kù

    be cruel to others

Similar words

无情wú qíng: Showing no compassion and paying no heed to other people's suffering.
冷漠lěng mò: Seeming remote and unconcerned about the people and activity around.
冷淡lěng dàn: Showing little warmth, affection, or interest in manner or speech.
残酷cán kù: Willing to inflict suffering through extremely harsh treatment or actions.

Definition in Chinese

表现出对他人感情或处境缺乏关心，态度冷淡，可能显得残忍。biǎo xiàn chū duì tā rén gǎn qíng huò chǔ jìng quē fá guān xīn tài dù lěng dàn kě néng xiǎn de cán rěn

Word origin

冷酷 (lěngkù, "cold and harsh") pairs 冷 (lěng, "cold") with 酷 (kù, "severe or merciless"), linking emotional coldness with harsh treatment of others.

Usage tips

  • The adjective can describe a person, behavior, decision, or policy, which makes it useful when the lack of human feeling appears in an action rather than in words alone.

Other meanings

  • ruthlessadjective

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word