HSK 6 · Adjectives

冷酷 lěngkù “cold-hearted” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 冷酷 means

  1. cold-hearted
  2. callous
  3. grim
  4. unfeeling

How to say 冷酷

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale冷lěng3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale酷kù4th tone, falling

冷酷 in a sentence

  1. 你真冷酷无情。

    Nǐ zhēn lěngkù wúqíng.

    You’re so heartless.

    Sentence #346857 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 冷酷 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 冷 (lěng) with each of its parts in a different colour
冷lěngcold
  • 冫ice · bīngMeaning part
  • 令command · língSound part

冫 hints at the meaning (ice); 令 (líng) hints at the sound. Compare it with lěng.

The character 酷 (kù) with each of its parts in a different colour
酷kùruthless
  • 酉wine vessel · yǒuMeaning part
  • 告to tell · gàoSound part

酉 hints at the meaning (wine vessel); 告 (gào) hints at the sound. Compare it with kù.

How to write 冷酷

冷 7 strokes · 酷 14 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

冷酷 (lěngkù) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 冷酷 (lěngkù). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 冷酷

Words with 冷

冷lěng · cold冷静lěngjìng · calm冷淡lěngdàn · cold冷落lěngluò · to snub冷却lěngquè · to cool down

Words with 酷

残酷cánkù · cruel

More words: Adjectives

枯燥kūzào · dull懒惰lǎnduò · lazy牢固láogù · firm类似lèisì · similar廉洁liánjié · honest辽阔liáokuò · vast利害lìhai · terrible伶俐línglì · clever

FAQs

冷酷 (lěngkù) means “cold-hearted” or “callous”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it lěngkù: lěng with a 3rd tone, then kù with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 冷酷 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type lengku with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 冷酷 from the suggestions. Typing lengku into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
冷酷 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.