adj.
Icy and freezing to the touch; low temperature. Indifferent, unfriendly; also deserted, quiet, or sluggish (as in sales).
冷
Common Usage & Traps
- 很冷 — very cold
- 太冷 — too cold
- 好冷 — so cold; damn cold
- 冷水 — cold water
- 今天天气很冷 — the weather is cold today
- 冷天 — cold days; cold weather
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我是冷我很冷 / 我冷是 links nouns; 冷 already states how you feel. Saying 我是冷 sounds like you're labeling yourself as a cold thing.
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冷天气今天天气很冷 / 冷天Chinese usually says the weather is cold instead of making 冷天气 a phrase. 冷天 is okay as a noun for cold days.
Why does 我是冷 sound wrong when you just mean 'I'm cold'?
Drop 是. Say 我很冷 or 我冷; 是 links nouns, not states.
冷 already describes your state. Adding 是 makes it sound like you are a cold object. Use 很 before 冷 to keep it smooth, even when you don't mean 'very'. So 'I'm cold' is 我很冷, not 我是冷.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday state | 我很冷 | 我是冷 |
| Bare but okay | 我冷 | 我是冷 |
Does 太冷 mean 'very cold' or 'too cold'?
太冷 means too cold, usually a complaint; 很冷 just means very cold.
English 'too' and 'very' blur together, but Chinese keeps them apart. 太冷 carries a problem: the soup is too cold, the room is too cold. 很冷 is neutral and just turns up the cold. If you want 'very cold', say 很冷. If you're whining, say 太冷了.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Neutral degree | 很冷 = very cold | 太冷 = very cold |
| Complaint | 太冷了 = too cold | 很冷了 = too cold |
| Room temperature | 房间很冷 | 房间太冷 (if you just mean very) |
Can you say 冷天气 for 'cold weather'?
冷天气 sounds foreign. Say 今天天气很冷 or 今天天冷; 冷天 means cold days.
Chinese usually comments on the weather instead of gluing 冷 onto 天气. The natural sentence is 今天天气很冷. If you want a noun, 冷天 works for 'cold days'. 冷天气 is not the default phrase and makes natives pause.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Weather sentence | 今天天气很冷 | 今天冷天气 |
| Noun phrase | 冷天 | 冷天气 |
| Colloquial comment | 今天天冷 | 冷天气 |
What changes when you say 我冷了 instead of 我冷?
我冷 is just 'I'm cold'; 我冷了 means you've gotten cold now.
The 了 marks a new situation. So 我冷了 often means the cold just hit you: you stepped outside and now you're cold. 我冷 or 我很冷 is a plain state. Use 我冷了 when the change matters.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Plain state | 我冷 / 我很冷 | 我冷了 (if no change) |
| New state | 我冷了 | 我冷 (if the change is the point) |
Appears in Stories 4 stories
Real context sentences across different daily scenarios and graded readings.
Read about a work trip to Beijing where a group of colleagues takes a very large airplane. Practice weather words and actions in a simple travel story.
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我们下飞机的时候是白天，但是天气有一点儿 冷 。
This short, soothing piece is about missing someone on a rainy night. The sentences are simple and repeat often, so you can practice reading while feeling the warm emotion.
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你 冷 不 冷 ？
Follow Dazhong, a busy worker in China, as he finds warmth and kindness at a small noodle shop. Practice everyday words for food, weather, and expressing gratitude.
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一天晚上，外边下大雨，天气非常 冷 。
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今天外边太 冷 了，我给你做热面条。”
Before you read, close your eyes and imagine a rainy afternoon. This story uses simple HSK 1 words to show how rain can become a talking friend.
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不 冷 ，也不热。
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