性冷淡

xìnglěngdàn

noun

Meanings

1 frigidity
2 low sexual desire
3 (of a style) minimalist, austere, 'cold-toned'

Characters

bland, indifferent

Examples

他们结婚后才发现妻子有性冷淡的问题。

Tāmen jiéhūn hòu cái fāxiàn qīzi yǒu xìnglěngdàn de wèntí.

It was only after marriage that they discovered the wife had a problem with low sexual desire.

她家是性冷淡风格，全是黑白灰。

Tā jiā shì xìnglěngdàn fēnggé, quán shì hēi bái huī.

Her place is decorated in 'cold' minimalist style — all black, white, and grey.

Tips

register

Two distinct modern uses: (1) the medical/literal sense — frigidity, low libido. (2) Internet/lifestyle slang since the mid-2010s: 性冷淡风 (xìnglěngdàn fēng) 'cold-tone aesthetic' for Muji-style minimalist design — clean lines, monochrome palette, no decoration.

mistakes

Don't read 性 (xìng) here as just 'gender'. In this compound it's 'sexuality/sexual desire' (compare 性欲 xìngyù 'libido'). 冷淡 (lěngdàn) means 'cold/indifferent', so the literal sense is 'cold/indifferent toward sex'.

Stroke Order

性 xìng

冷 lěng

淡 dàn