冰 (bīng) is a Chinese character meaning “ice”. It is written from 冫 (ice; two dots of ice) and 水 (water), side by side, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “ice”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
冫 + 水
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（IDS ⿰冫水，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：左「冫」2 笔 + 右「水」4 笔 = 6 笔）；非字源解释
Memory aid
Two dots of ice (冫) freezing onto water (水) — water that has turned solid: ice.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 冰水bīng shuǐice water; iced water冰 = bīng
- 冰山bīng shāniceberg冰 = bīng
- 冰冻bīng dòngto freeze; frozen冰 = bīng
- 冰块bīng kuàiice cube; block of ice冰 = bīng
- 刨冰bào bīngshaved ice冰 = bīng
Go deeper
All readings
ice
ice; to freeze; to chill something with ice; icy cold to the touch
水在零度以下凝结成的固体；也指用冰使东西变凉，或触感极冷。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 冰水bīng shuǐice water; iced water冰 = bīng
- 冰山bīng shāniceberg冰 = bīng
- 冰冻bīng dòngto freeze; frozen冰 = bīng
- 冰块bīng kuàiice cube; block of ice冰 = bīng
- 刨冰bào bīngshaved ice冰 = bīng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 冰 mean?
冰 (bīng) means ice; to freeze; to chill something with ice; icy cold to the touch.
How do you pronounce 冰?
It is pronounced bīng.
What parts is 冰 made of?
冫 (ice; two dots of ice) and 水 (water), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（IDS ⿰冫水，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：左「冫」2 笔 + 右「水」4 笔 = 6 笔）；非字源解释. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 冰 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 冰?
冫. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 冰?
Common ones are 冰水 and 冰山. The reading of 冰 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.