冷

lěng

adjective HSK 1 #1,231

Meanings

冫(ice) + 令 (to order) — cold as ice

Jīntiān hěn lěng.

It's cold today.

Nǐ lěng bù lěng?

Are you cold?

Shuǐ tài lěng le.

The water is too cold.

usage

冷笑话 (lěng xiàohua, 'cold joke') is the Chinese term for a dad joke or a joke so bad it gives you chills instead of laughs.

mistakes

冷 is for temperature and atmosphere. For personality ('cold person'), Chinese also uses 冷, but 冷淡 (lěngdàn, cold and indifferent) is more precise.

冷 lěng