冬

dōng
HSK 3
#1,382 most
frequent character
winter
noun

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

冬 shows fruit at the end of branches, and the bottom part means ice. It first meant end or extremity, now written 终; the winter sense grew from that.

Drawn as: fruit at branch end

冬 as a component in other characters

meaning1 character
终
sound6 characters
终疼咚佟氡螽
picture1 character
柊
empty1 character
图

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Example Sentences

冬天很冷。
dōngtiān hěn lěng 。
Winter is very cold.
我喜欢冬天的雪。
wǒ xǐhuān dōngtiān de xuě 。
I like the snow in winter.
冬季运动很有趣。
dōngjì yùndòng hěn yǒuqù 。
Winter sports are very interesting.

Words with similar meanings

寒冬hándōng
cold winter
A more poetic or formal term emphasizing the cold aspect of winter.
冬季dōngjì
winter season
A more formal way to refer to the winter period, often used in official contexts.

Homophones

HSK 3
东dōng
east, host (i.e. sitting on east side of guest)

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Public Lists with 冬

Weather & Climate
Describing temperature, precipitation, seasons, forecasts, and related terms.
HSK 3
All words for the HSK 3 test
Time & Dates
Days of the week, months, seasons, telling time, and related expressions.