冰bīng

冰

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Simplified · Today

简体

Simplified Chinese

Modern simplified form (簡體). 冰 (bīng, "ice") appears identical in both scripts — a pictograph depicting frozen water with horizontal lines representing ice layers. It serves as a component in 冻 (freeze), 冷 (cold), 凛 (frigid), and 凝 (condense), characters that all carry the chill of winter in their strokes.

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Shuowen

Ice. The character depicts the crystalline structure of frozen water, with two vertical strokes representing the cold energy penetrating downward and horizontal lines showing the frozen surface. In its oracle bone form, it appeared as a mass of interlocking lines suggesting the solid, layered nature of ice. The ancient scribes chose this pictographic form because ice forms in distinct horizontal layers when water freezes, making it a natural symbol for the cold season.

Pinyin

bīng· HSK 1

冰bīng

Character evolution

Shuowen

Pinyin