凄 (qī): intense cold, frigid, dismal
凄 (qī) is a Chinese character meaning “intense cold.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 冫 (semantic) and 妻 (phonetic). It ranks #2282 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 凄 ice. Its radical form 冫 (ice) appears in many related characters such as 冷 (lěng, cold), 净 (jìng, clean), 准 (zhǔn, to allow).
Definitions
- intense cold
- frigid
- dismal
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 凄 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 凄凉adjective | qī liáng | mournful |
| 凄惨adjective | qī cǎn | plaintive |
| 凄厉adjective | qī lì | mournful (sound) |
| 凄美adjective | qī měi | poignant |
| 凄苦 | qī kǔ | bleak |
| 凄清adjective | qī qīng | somber |
| 凄风苦雨 | qī fēng kǔ yǔ | lit. bleak wind and icy rain (idiom) |
| 凄然adjective | qī rán | distressed |
| 凄切adjective | qī qiè | mournful |
| 风雨凄凄 | fēng yǔ qī qī | wretched wind and rain |
| 凄楚adjective | qī chǔ | sad |
| 凄暗 | qī àn | dismal |
| 凄迷 | qī mí | pained and bewildered |
| 悲凄adjective | bēi qī | pitiable |
| 凄寒adjective | qī hán | cold and desolate |
凄 appears in 24 compound words: 92 as the first character, 4 as the last, and 4 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 凄 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (2)
Example Sentences
写好凄字需要掌握正确的笔画顺序。
xiě hǎo qī zì xū yāo zhǎng wò zhēng què de bǐ huà shùn xù .
To write the character "凄" correctly, one must master the proper stroke order.
这场短暂而盛大的凄美爱恋,宛如带着鲜血味道的深吻,使人反复回味。
zhè chǎng duǎn zàn ér shèng dà de qī měi ài liàn , 宛 rú dài zhe xiān xiě wèi dào de shēn wěn , shǐ rén fǎn fù huí wèi .
This brief yet magnificent and poignant romance is like a deep kiss tinged with the taste of blood—one that lingers in the memory.
她们的公路旅行故事一波三折,景色也时而凄凉时而浪漫,看到最后很难不让人热泪盈眶。
tā men de gōng lù lǚ háng gù shì yī bō sān zhé , jǐng sè yě shí ér qī liáng shí ér làng màn , kàn dào zuì hòu hěn nán bù ràng rén rè lèi yíng kuàng .
Their road trip story is full of twists and turns, with scenery that shifts from desolate to romantic; by the end, it’s hard not to be moved to tears.
...播“毁粉丝帐号” 当众把装备卖光遭炎上 凄惨下场曝
. . . bō huǐ fěn sī zhàng hào dāng zhòng bǎ zhuāng bèi mài guāng zāo yán shàng qī cǎn xià chǎng pù
...Streamer "Destroys Fan Account," Sells Off All Gear in Public, Sparks Backlash, and Faces a Tragic End
半夜隔壁突传凄厉救命声!邻居吓疯探头看 破门惊见翁倒地...
bàn yè gé bì tū chuán qī lì jiù mìng shēng ! lín jū hè fēng tàn tóu kàn pò mén jīng jiàn wēng dǎo dì . . .
In the middle of the night, a piercing cry for help suddenly rang out from next door! Terrified, the neighbor peeked out and, upon breaking down the door, was shocked to find an elderly man lying on the floor...
伊朗战事重燃通膨威胁 全球政府债券市场凄风苦雨
yī lǎng zhàn shì chóng rán tōng péng wēi xié quán qiú zhèng fǔ zhài quàn shì chǎng qī fēng kǔ yǔ
The war in Iran reignites the threat of inflation, and the global government bond market is miserable
我感到凄清与孤独。
Wǒ gǎndào qīqīng yǔ gūdú.
I felt sad and lonely.
看着眼前凄凉的景象,我们不禁流下了泪来。
Kàn zhe yǎnqián qīliáng de jǐngxiàng, wǒmen bù jīn liú xià le lèi lái.
The pitiful sight moved us to tears.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 冫 (ice) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 凄 (qī) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 凄 and 热?
How many strokes does 凄 have?
What is the radical of 凄?
What are the components of 凄?
What are common words containing 凄?
What characters sound the same as 凄 (qī)?
Is 凄 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 凄 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.