[[Characters]] #Characters \ #Natural-World \ #Celestial-Phenomena # 冷 lěng cold ## Components [[冫 (bīng)]] [[令 lìng]] ## Meaning Today, the character 冷 (lěng) is primarily used to mean: 1. **Cold**: 冷 (lěng) - Cold But it is also used to describe: 2. **Unfriendly, Unkind**: 冷淡 (lěng dàn) - Cold and indifferent - 冷冰冰 (lěng bīng bīng) - Cold and aloof - 冷漠 (lěng mò) - Cold and indifferent - 冷酷无情 (lěng kù wú qíng) - Cold-hearted and ruthless 3. **Quiet, Not Lively**: 冷清 (lěng qīng) - Quiet and deserted ## History The character 冷 (lěng) originally meant cold, and it is a phonetic-semantic compound character. Its original form in seal script consisted of the radical 冫 (representing ice) on the left side and 令 (meaning command) on the right side. The meaning of 令 here is irresistible, implying that coldness is also difficult to resist. The original meaning of 冷, coldness, is still used today. However, nowadays, it is also commonly used to describe someone as unfriendly or unkind, such as "冷淡 (lěng dàn)", "冷冰冰 (lěng bīng bīng)", "冷漠 (lěng mò)", "冷酷无情 (lěng kù wú qíng)". Additionally, 冷 can also mean quiet or not lively, as in "冷清 (lěng qīng)". ## Evolution ### Oracular Script ? ### Bronze Script ? ### Seal Script ![[冷 seal.svg]] ### Clerical Script ![[冷 cle.svg]] ### Regular Script ![[冷 reg.svg]]