冷酷无情
lěng kù wú qíng · HSK 7
cold-hearted
🧊❄️ 冷酷 = cold + cruel, 无情 = without + feeling: cold and cruel, no feelings
Four parts stack the meaning: 冷 cold + 酷 cruel, then 无 without + 情 feeling. Someone 冷酷无情 is icy and harsh with zero emotion. The 情 here is the same feeling/affection in words like 感情 and 爱情.
冷 — ice radical 冫 + order 令
A semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 冫 (ice) supplies the meaning of coldness, while 令 (lìng, 'command/order') hints at the pronunciation. Originally referring to the chill of ice, 冷 broadened to mean cold in general, and figuratively cool, indifferent, or detached.
酷 — wine radical 酉 + announce 告 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 酉 (wine jar) gives the meaning side, while 告 supplies the sound. It originally meant 'strong wine' or intensely flavored liquor. The sense extended to 'extreme' or 'cruel,' and in modern Mandarin it also borrows the English word 'cool.'
无 — top 一 + 林-like middle + fire radical 灬 below
Originally a pictograph of a person dancing while holding ornaments or tassels, meaning 'to dance' — the ancestor of 舞. It was borrowed phonetically to write the negative 'not have / without,' and the dance meaning was reassigned to 舞 with an added foot element. The simplified form 无 comes from an ancient variant.
情 — heart radical 忄 + 青 (qīng)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The heart radical 忄 signals that the meaning involves feelings or inner states, while 青 supplies the sound 'qing'. Originally referring to genuine feelings or emotion arising from the heart, 情 expanded to cover sentiment, affection, and circumstances or situations more broadly.