冷 means “cold, chilly”

つめ · tsume

Also: cool, cold (beer, person), chill

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

つめたい, ひえる, ひや, ひややか, ひやす

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

レイ

Taught in grade 4 · 7 strokes

The story

Ice (冫) meets a command (令): 冷たい (tsumetai) is the sharp cold of ice water, a cold wind, or a chilly personality. Unlike 寒, this cold is precise and direct.

Used in 冷水 (reisui, cold water) and 冷房 (reibou, air conditioning)

Words with 冷

• 冷凍 (れいとう, reitou): freezing / frozen

More from Weather & Sky

• 涼 cool
• 熱 heat
• 吹 blow
• 虹 rainbow
• 凍 freeze
• 乾 dry
• 湿 humid
• 陽 sunshine
• 影 shadow
• 天 heaven
• 星 star
• 晴 clear weather

Learn 冷 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.