凉 (liáng) is a Chinese character meaning “cool”. It is written from 冫 (ice; two dots of ice) and 京 (capital city), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “cool”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
冫 + 京
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（IDS ⿰冫京，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：左「冫」2 笔 + 右「京」8 笔 = 10 笔）；声符依据 说文解字「涼，从水京聲」（凉为其俗体）；读音比对 京 jīng → 凉 liáng 已分化
Memory aid
Two flecks of ice (冫) beside the capital (京) — a chilly breeze blows through the city, and everything turns cool. Both parts really are in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 凉水liáng shuǐcold water; unboiled water凉 = liáng
- 凉拌liáng bànto dress a cold dish; to serve cold with seasoning凉 = liáng
- 凄凉qī liángdesolate; dreary; miserable凉 = liáng
- 凉亭liáng tínggarden pavilion; shelter for resting in the shade凉 = liáng
- 凉爽liáng shuǎngpleasantly cool; nice and cool凉 = liáng
Go deeper
All readings
cool; cold
cool; cold; (figuratively) disheartened or desolate
温度低，微冷；也比喻灰心、冷落。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 凉水liáng shuǐcold water; unboiled water凉 = liáng
- 凉拌liáng bànto dress a cold dish; to serve cold with seasoning凉 = liáng
- 凄凉qī liángdesolate; dreary; miserable凉 = liáng
- 凉亭liáng tínggarden pavilion; shelter for resting in the shade凉 = liáng
- 凉爽liáng shuǎngpleasantly cool; nice and cool凉 = liáng
Rare readings, not taught: liàng
Sound component
京 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 凉 mean?
凉 (liáng) means cool; cold; (figuratively) disheartened or desolate.
How do you pronounce 凉?
It is pronounced liáng.
What parts is 凉 made of?
冫 (ice; two dots of ice) and 京 (capital city), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（IDS ⿰冫京，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：左「冫」2 笔 + 右「京」8 笔 = 10 笔）；声符依据 说文解字「涼，从水京聲」（凉为其俗体）；读音比对 京 jīng → 凉 liáng 已分化. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 凉 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 凉?
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 凉?
Common ones are 凉水 and 凉拌. The reading of 凉 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.