HanziGuru.冻 · dòng
冻
dòng[dong4]Tone 4

to freeze

HSK 5
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凍
Guru Deep Dive

English · to freeze

Cached lesson
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Topology:Left-right
Strokes:7
Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (two-dot water) occupies about one-third of the horizontal width, leaving the right component (重) to occupy the remaining two-thirds with a stable, stacked structure.
Simplification Logic: The traditional form 凍 uses the standard four-stroke water radical 冫 (representing ice), which remains identical in the simplified form 冻.
1. Meaning

to freeze, to congeal, to feel very cold

aspicmeat jelly
Verb / AdjectiveNeutral#weather#temperature#food
Sample Usage
  • 外面太冷了，小心把手冻僵。
    wàimiàn tài lěng le, xiǎoxīn bǎ shǒu dòng jiāng.
    It is too cold outside, be careful not to freeze your hands stiff.
  • 把这块肉放进冰箱冷冻。
    bǎ zhè kuài ròu fàng jìn bīngxiāng lěngdòng.
    Put this piece of meat into the refrigerator to freeze.
2. Sound
/[tʊŋ˥˩]/Tone: 51
冻
dòngdong4
++
`(51)
=dòng
Initial Consonant
d
Type: Unaspirated Alveolar
Sounds like: d sound as in 'dog'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: No puff of air. Tissue remains still (sounds like English 't' in 'stop').
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip touching the alveolar ridge or back of upper teeth, releasing cleanly without an outgoing puff of air.
Final Rhyme
ong
Vowel Group: -o vowel group
Sounds like: -ong rhymes with rung
Mouth Shape Guide: Combine initial 'h-' (h) with final '-ong' (oong).
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T4 (51)
4th Tone (High-Falling)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 is a sharp drop in pitch from high to low, identical to an abrupt command or emphatic English syllable like 'STOP!'
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the vowel rhyme '-ong' with '-eng' or mistaking Tone 4 for Tone 1 or Tone 3 due to hasty pronunciation.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 4 starts high and plunges sharply downward like an emphatic nod or shouting 'No!'. Make a downward chopping hand motion matching the steep pitch drop from 5 to 1.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 7 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (two-dot water) occupies about one-third of the horizontal width, leaving the right component (重) to occupy the remaining two-thirds with a stable, stacked structure.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 凍 uses the standard four-stroke water radical 冫 (representing ice), which remains identical in the simplified form 冻.

4. Components

Radical 冫 · Ice Radical (Ice, cold, freezing)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 冫 (Indicates ice and freezing temperature)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 重 (original sound: zhòng / dòng)

Ice (冫) combines with heavy/weight (重) to form 'freeze' (冻), depicting heavy water immobilized and solidified by deep cold.

  • 冫 Ice / cold semantic indicator
  • 重 Heavy phonetic / conceptual clue
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Formed as a phono-semantic compound where the ice radical (冫) denotes the frozen state, and 重 (zhòng, heavy) provides the approximate sound while suggesting the dense, heavy nature of frozen solids.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred strictly to water turning into ice. Over time, it broadened to include feeling extremely cold, refrigeration, and congealed gelatinous foods (aspic).

  • The two-dot ice radical (冫) is specifically associated with cold weather and frozen states, unlike the three-dot water radical (氵) which represents liquid water.
6. Sinosphere
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: トウ / Kun: こお.る, こ凍.える
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
동
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

Picture heavy (重) blocks of ice (冫) piled up in a giant freezer, making everything completely FROZEN (冻) solid.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
重
zhòngheavyWithout ice radical; means heavy.
动
dòngto moveUses power/strength radical (力) instead of ice (冫).
种
zhǒngseed / typeUses grain radical (禾) instead of ice (冫).
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
动(dòng)
动 uses the strength radical 力 (muscle/movement), whereas 冻 uses the ice radical 冫 (cold/freezing).
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
冬天天气太冷，河里的水都[___]了。
Clue: dòng
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 冻 (dòng - to freeze) with 动 (dòng - to move) because they share the exact same pronunciation and tone.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does 冻 mean and what is its pronunciation?
Production: How do you write the character for 'to freeze' using the ice radical and the component for 'heavy'?
Real-World Video Context

Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.

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