冷却
Traditional: 冷卻
lěng què HSK 6

English Meaning

📚 Example Sentences

让咖啡冷却一下再喝。
Ràng kāfēi lěngquè yīxià zài hē.
Let the coffee cool down a bit before drinking.
发动机需要冷却系统。
Fādòngjī xūyào lěngquè xìtǒng.
The engine needs a cooling system.
他们的热情逐渐冷却了。
Tāmen de rèqíng zhújiàn lěngquè le.
Their enthusiasm gradually cooled down.
牛奶需要冷却。
Niúnǎi xūyào lěngquè.
Milk needs to cool down.
金属正在冷却。
Jīnshǔ zhèngzài lěngquè.
The metal is cooling.

💡 Memory Tip

Break the word into parts: 冷 (lěng) means 'cold,' and 却 (què) can imply 'but' or a turning point—think of it as 'turning cold.' Imagine hot food 'cooling off' after you say 'but wait, let it cool!' to remember the process.

📝 Usage Notes

This word is neutral in tone and can be used in both formal and informal contexts, as well as in spoken and written Chinese. It is commonly used in technical, scientific, or everyday situations, such as in cooking (e.g., cooling food), engineering (e.g., cooling systems), or describing emotions metaphorically (e.g., cooling enthusiasm).

📖 Grammar Points

冷却 can be used as a transitive verb (e.g., 冷却引擎 - cool the engine) or intransitively (e.g., 引擎冷却了 - the engine cooled down). It often appears with complements like 下来 (冷却下来 - to cool down) or in serial verb constructions (e.g., 放在冰箱里冷却 - place in the fridge to cool).

🏯 Cultural Notes

In Chinese culture, 冷却 is sometimes used metaphorically in contexts like relationships or emotions, implying a calming or distancing effect, similar to English 'cool off.' For example, 让情绪冷却 means 'let emotions cool down.'

🔄 Similar Words

Compared to 凉快 (liángkuai), which means 'cool' as in comfortable weather or feeling cool, 冷却 focuses on the active process of cooling. Unlike 冷冻 (lěngdòng), which means 'to freeze' (implying a solid state), 冷却 only involves temperature reduction without necessarily reaching freezing point.

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