{"id":6907,"date":"2016-03-22T14:15:42","date_gmt":"2016-03-22T14:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/?p=6907"},"modified":"2024-07-20T08:48:46","modified_gmt":"2024-07-20T08:48:46","slug":"learn-ice-radical-related-chinese-characters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/learn-ice-radical-related-chinese-characters.html","title":{"rendered":"Mastering Chinese Characters Through Radicals &#8211; Discovering the Ice Radical in Chinese Characters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Have you ever wondered how much a radical means in Chinese? Take the &#8220;Ice&#8221; radical, for example. It has only two strokes and looks like two drops of water \u2013 <strong>\u51ab<\/strong>.&nbsp; This radical captures the characteristics of water and its ability to freeze. It usually appears on the left side of a character, but sometimes it is at the bottom. The most well-known example is \u51ac (d\u014dng), meaning &#8220;winter.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Kangxi Dictionary lists over 115 characters under the &#8220;ice&#8221; radical. Many of them relate directly to coldness, frost, and freezing, such as:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u51ab+ \u6c34&nbsp; (shu\u01d0) = \u51b0 (b\u012bng)&nbsp; \u2013<strong> <\/strong>ice<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u51ab+ phonetic component \u4ee4 (l\u00ecng) = \u51b7 (l\u011bng) \u2013 cold<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u51ab+ phonetic component \u4e1c (d\u014dng) = \u51bb (d\u00f2ng) \u2013 to freeze<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is a visual chart showing how the ice radical is used in Chinese characters.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"mp3jWrap_0\" class=\"mjp-s-wrapper s-graphic unsel-mjp \" style=\"font-size:18px;\"><span id=\"playpause_wrap_mp3j_0\" class=\"wrap_inline_mp3j\" style=\"font-weight:700;\"><span class=\"gfxbutton_mp3j play-mjp\" id=\"playpause_mp3j_0\" style=\"font-size:18px;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span>&nbsp;<span class=\"group_wrap\"><span class=\"bars_mp3j\"><span class=\"loadB_mp3j\" id=\"load_mp3j_0\"><\/span><span class=\"posbarB_mp3j\" id=\"posbar_mp3j_0\"><\/span><\/span><span class=\"indi_mp3j\" style=\"font-size:12.6px;\" id=\"statusMI_0\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div><span class=\"s-nosolution\" id=\"mp3j_nosolution_0\" style=\"display:none;\"><\/span><script>\nMP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_0 = [\n\t{ name: \"post14\", formats: [\"mp3\"], mp3: \"aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGlnbWFuZGFyaW4uY29tL3dwLWNvbnRlbnQvdXBsb2Fkcy8yMDE2LzAzL3Bvc3QxNC5tcDM=\", counterpart:\"\", artist: \"\", image: \"\", imgurl: \"\" }\n];\n<\/script>\n\n<script>MP3jPLAYERS[0] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_0, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;', pause_txt:'&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:100, height:'' };<\/script>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/post14_ice.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-6908\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"687\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/post14_ice.jpg\" alt=\"post14_ice\" class=\"wp-image-6908\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/post14_ice.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/post14_ice-300x258.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/post14_ice-768x660.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>However, some Chinese characters with this radical are part of commonly used words that don\u2019t directly relate to ice or cold. Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>\u60c5\u51b5<\/strong> (q\u00edng ku\u00e0ng) \u2013 situation, circumstances<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u51b5 (ku\u00e0ng) means &#8220;condition,&#8221; but it originally meant &#8220;cold water.&#8221; In this case, \u5144 (xi\u014dng) is the phonetic component.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>\u51cf<\/strong>\u4ef7 (ji\u01cen ji\u00e0) \u2013 to reduce price, to discount<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u51cf (ji\u01cen) comes from the ice radical \u51ab and the phonetic \u54b8 (xi\u00e1n). The character means &#8220;to decrease,&#8221; akin to pouring out like a waterfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>\u51b3<\/strong>\u5b9a (ju\u00e9 d\u00ecng) \u2013 to decide, to resolve<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u51b3 (ju\u00e9) combines the ice radical \u51ab with the phonetic \u592c (gu\u00e0i), which also means &#8220;to decide.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see, the ice radical can be directly related to ice and its characteristics, but it can also be used more abstractly. It&#8217;s fascinating how the Chinese language uses radicals to build on simple ideas and express complex concepts.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/chinese-characters.html\">Explore additional resources and methods<\/a> to deepen your understanding of Chinese characters and their components. Check out this comprehensive<a href=\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/chinese-characters-list\"> list of Chinese characters<\/a> and learn about effective strategies for<a href=\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/how-to-write-chinese-characters.html\"> writing Chinese characters<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever wondered how much a radical means in Chinese? Take the &#8220;Ice&#8221; radical, for example. It has only two strokes and looks like two drops of water \u2013 \u51ab.&nbsp; This radical captures the characteristics of water and its ability to freeze. It usually appears on the left side of a character, but sometimes&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":6912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[77,86,78,80],"post_series":[],"class_list":["post-6907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hacking-chinese-characters","tag-beginner","tag-chinese-characters","tag-intermediate","tag-self-study","entry","has-media"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Discovering the Ice Radical in Chinese Characters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/learn-ice-radical-related-chinese-characters.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Discovering the Ice Radical in Chinese Characters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Have you ever wondered how much a radical means in Chinese? Take the &#8220;Ice&#8221; radical, for example. It has only two strokes and looks like two drops of water \u2013 \u51ab.&nbsp; This radical captures the characteristics of water and its ability to freeze. It usually appears on the left side of a character, but sometimes&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/learn-ice-radical-related-chinese-characters.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-22T14:15:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-07-20T08:48:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/ice-radical-related.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"845\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"449\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Oksana Ermolaeva\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@digmandarin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@digmandarin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Oksana Ermolaeva\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/learn-ice-radical-related-chinese-characters.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/learn-ice-radical-related-chinese-characters.html\",\"name\":\"Discovering the Ice Radical in Chinese Characters\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/learn-ice-radical-related-chinese-characters.html#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/learn-ice-radical-related-chinese-characters.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/ice-radical-related.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-22T14:15:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-20T08:48:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d398c21521cbf04e442c8d747314b61a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/learn-ice-radical-related-chinese-characters.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/learn-ice-radical-related-chinese-characters.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/learn-ice-radical-related-chinese-characters.html#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/ice-radical-related.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/ice-radical-related.jpg\",\"width\":845,\"height\":449},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/learn-ice-radical-related-chinese-characters.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mastering Chinese Characters Through Radicals &#8211; Discovering the Ice Radical in Chinese Characters\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d398c21521cbf04e442c8d747314b61a\",\"name\":\"Oksana Ermolaeva\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/sana1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/sana1.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Oksana Ermolaeva\"},\"description\":\"Oxana Ermolaeva is a freelance writer, editor and translator from Russia. 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