凌 (líng) is a Chinese character meaning “to rise high above”. It is written from 冫 (ice; two dots of ice) and 夌 (to cross over; to surpass), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to rise above; early (dawn)”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
冫 + 夌
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（IDS ⿰冫夌，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：左「冫」2 笔 + 右「夌」8 笔 = 10 笔）；说文解字 仌部 𠓜 下「凌，𠓜或从夌」；读音比对 夌 líng → 凌 líng
Memory aid
Ice (冫) on the left, and 夌 — "to climb over" — on the right: ice creeping over everything in the cold early hours. Both parts really are in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 凌晨líng chénearly morning; the hours before dawn凌 = líng
- 凌乱líng luànmessy; in disorder凌 = líng
Go deeper
All readings
to rise above; to approach; ice
to rise high above; to bully or insult; to approach (a time); disorderly; ice
升高、越过；侵犯、欺压；逼近（某个时间）；杂乱。也指冰。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 凌晨líng chénearly morning; the hours before dawn凌 = líng
- 凌乱líng luànmessy; in disorder凌 = líng
Sound component
夌 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 凌 mean?
凌 (líng) means to rise high above; to bully or insult; to approach (a time); disorderly; ice.
How do you pronounce 凌?
It is pronounced líng.
What parts is 凌 made of?
冫 (ice; two dots of ice) and 夌 (to cross over; to surpass), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（IDS ⿰冫夌，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：左「冫」2 笔 + 右「夌」8 笔 = 10 笔）；说文解字 仌部 𠓜 下「凌，𠓜或从夌」；读音比对 夌 líng → 凌 líng. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 凌 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 凌?
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 凌?
Common ones are 凌晨 and 凌乱. The reading of 凌 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.