Onyomi: カン · Kunyomi: さむ.い · Meanings: cold
Kanji for cold
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The kanji 寒 combines 宀 (roof, house), the component 㠯 (ancient phonetic/element representing a person), and the symbol for ice or cold below. In ancient times, it depicted a person under a roof shivering from the cold — showing both shelter and the chill that still reaches inside. This combination created a visual story of winter, cold weather, and the sensation of shivering even indoors. Over time, 寒 came to represent cold in temperature and a general feeling of chilliness.
Shows a person (㠯) under a roof (宀) with the sense of cold beneath — 寒 represents cold weather, winter, or a chilling sensation.
This kanji declares: even under a roof (宀), the person (㠯) feels the cold seeping in — 寒 means cold, winter, or the chill that reaches every corner. Picture shivering indoors as icy wind blows outside; that’s the feeling captured by 寒.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 寒 | さむ | cold | Noun |
| 寒 | かん | midwinter, cold season, coldest days of the year | Noun |
| 寒い | さむい | cold (e.g. weather) | common JLPT-N5 I-adjective (keiyoushi) |
| 寒気 | さむけ | chill, the shivers, shivering fit | common JLPT-N1 Noun |
| 寒波 | かんぱ | cold wave | common Noun |
| 寒さ | さむさ | coldness | common Noun |
| 寒暖計 | かんだんけい | thermometer | common Noun |
| 寒風 | かんぷう | cold wind | Noun |
| 寒帯 | かんたい | frigid zone | JLPT-N2 Noun |
| 寒がり | さむがり | being sensitive to the cold, person who is sensitive to the cold | Noun, Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', Na-adjective (keiyodoshi) |