寒 (hán)

cold; poor; to tremble

Etymology

Depicts a person (人) under a roof (宀) surrounding himself with grass bedding (茻) to try to stay warm in the cold weather. The 冫 (ice) component was added later.

Shuowen Jiezi

《說文》:“寒,凍也。从人在宀下,以茻薦覆之,下有仌。”

Components