Explore 氷 in everyday objects and temperatures. Learn each reading together with a complete word.

The idea

氷 has five strokes; follow the linked stroke-order diagram. 氷 is こおり on its own, 氷水 is こおりみず, and 氷点 is ひょうてん. Learn the compound readings as words.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
氷こおりThe ice in the glass melted.
氷水こおりみずI cooled the bottle in ice water.
氷点ひょうてんThe temperature fell below freezing.
かき氷かきごおりWe ate shaved ice at the festival.

Examples

  • グラスの氷こおりが溶とけました。The ice in the glass melted.
  • 水みずに氷こおりを入いれてください。Please put ice in the water.
  • 氷水こおりみずで瓶びんを冷ひやしました。I cooled the bottle in ice water.
  • 気温きおんが氷点ひょうてんより下さがりました。The temperature fell below freezing.
  • 祭まつりでかき氷ごおりを食たべました。We ate shaved ice at the festival.
  • 今朝けさ、池いけに氷こおりができました。Ice formed on the pond this morning.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

氷 resembles 水, but has an extra stroke. In かき氷 the reading changes to ごおり; do not assume the same reading in every compound.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 氷水 in hiragana.

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    こおりみず

    氷水 is こおりみず: water with ice, as in cooling the bottle.

  2. Write the reading of 氷点 in hiragana.

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    ひょうてん

    氷点 is ひょうてん, the freezing point; the sentence describes temperature falling below it.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: かき＿（かきごおり）［氷／水］.

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    氷

    氷 completes かき氷, read かきごおり, a shaved-ice dessert.

Use it today

Write 氷 using the diagram, then cover the table and read 氷水 and 氷点. Make a sentence using one word.