Chinese word

冻

Pronunciation

Pinyindòng

Meaning

  • verbfeel cold

Example

他在外面站着，冻得直发抖。tā zài wài miàn zhàn zhe dòng de zhí fā dǒu

He is standing outside, freezing and shivering.

Illustration for 冻 (feel cold)

More examples

冬天湖面很快就冻上了。dōng tiān hú miàn hěn kuài jiù dòng shàng le

The surface of the lake froze over quickly in winter.

Core concept

A drop in temperature turns liquid into ice or makes a person feel cold enough to shake.

Common phrases

  • 冻得发抖dòng de fā dǒu

    shiver from the cold

  • 冻成冰dòng chéng bīng

    freeze into ice

  • 被冻坏bèi dòng huài

    be damaged by freezing

Similar words

受冻shòu dòng: Feel unwell because the body has been chilled by cold weather.
冻僵dòng jiāng: Become hardened and difficult to move because of the cold.
结冰jié bīng: Change into ice as a liquid becomes cold.
冻结dòng jié: Temporarily suspend the operation or movement of a system, asset, or transaction.

Definition in Chinese

在低温下变成冰或把东西冻结，也可表示人因寒冷而觉得很冷、发抖。zài dī wēn xià biàn chéng bīng huò bǎ dōng xī dòng jié yě kě biǎo shì rén yīn hán lěng ér jué de hěn lěng fā dǒu

Word origin

冫 (bīng, "ice") + 东 (dōng, "east") forms 冻 (dòng, "freeze"), with 冫 marking the cold-related meaning and 东 mainly supplying the sound.

Usage tips

  • English often uses one general verb for both freezing objects and feeling cold, while Chinese makes the personal sense clearer by showing the result, such as shivering.

Other meanings

  • become frozenverb
  • freezeverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 冻结dòng jiéfreezeverb
  • 冻伤dòng shāngfrostbitenoun
  • 冰冻bīng dòngfrozenadjective

Word lists with this word