春寒料峭

chūnhánliàoqiào
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 the chill of early spring; biting cold of early spring

Examples

Chūnhánliàoqiào, chūmén bié wàng le jiā jiàn wàitào.
Early spring is still chilly — don't forget a jacket when you go out.
Sān yuè de Běijīng yīrán chūnhánliàoqiào.
Beijing in March still has that biting early-spring chill.

Tips

history
From the Song-dynasty Chan Buddhist text 《》: 春寒料峭年少 — 'the early-spring chill freezes the young to death.'
usage
(liàoqiào) literally means 'slightly cold' and almost exclusively pairs with in modern use. Reserve this idiom for late-winter / early-spring settings, not general cold weather.

Stroke Order

chūn
hán
liào
qiào