冫
two-stroke water radical or ice radical (no. 15)
Strokes2
Readings
On'yomi
- ヒョウ
Kun'yomi
- こおり
Meaning
冫 is a radical that represents ice or cold water. It is not a standalone kanji but a component used in characters related to cold, freezing, or water.
Study
Etymology
冫 is a pictograph of ice crystals or frozen water, simplified to two strokes. It is the radical form of 氷 (ice).
Meaning mnemonic
The two short diagonal strokes look like ice crystals forming on a surface. Think of them as frozen droplets.
Reading mnemonic
For ヒョウ, imagine a hyō (雹, hail) stone made of ice: hyō -> ヒョウ, and the radical represents ice.