冫

bing

水

shui

water

水流 water flow; 水滴 water drop;  水分子 water molecule; 

喝水 to drink water; 滴水穿石 dripping water pierces stone

a visual and conceptual archetype of fluidity, symbolizes water by representing water flowing in rivers (水).

冰

bing

ice

凍 freeze; 冷 cold

a frozen (冫) water (水) is ice

令

ling

order, command

命令 a command or order; 政令 a government order

a man kneeling under the seat of power to receive in order

冷

leng

cold; cold-hearted

冷淡 indifferent, cold (attitude); 冷漠 cold and detached

很冷 very cold; 冰冷 ice-cold (literally and emotionally)

 寒冷 freezing cold; 冷汗 cold sweat (from fear or shock)

冷静 calm, cool-headed (lit. cold + quiet)

an "icy" order is cold or cold-hearted

京

jing

capital

京剧 Peking opera (a UNESCO cultural heritage)

京都 capital city; 东京 Tokyo (eastern capital); 

The top (亠) represents a cover or roof, while the lower part (小) originally symbolized elevation (though it now resembles "small," this is coincidental)

凉

liang

cool

凉快 pleasantly cool; 心凉 heart turns cold (feeling let down)

凉菜 cold appetizers; 清凉 fresh and cool (often used in advertising!)

a large building with a high ceiling and thick walls is cool like ice

隹

zhui

(short-tailed) bird

Signifies a small bird which looked at from its side. While “鸟[niǎo]” is used to and signify long-tailed and larger birds, this character is a general term to mean ‘short-tailed and smaller birds.’

准

zhun

to allow, to permit

standard, norm;

accurate, precise

 基准 "benchmark"; 标准 An established measure; 准则 "norms"

a solidity of ice (冫) combined with preciseness (directional accuracy) of birds (隹) flight, gives us accurate and modern standards

艸

cao

grass, plants

艹 is the simplified/abbreviated version used as a radical, often found at the top of characters

宀

mian

寒

han

cold, chilly, wintry

寒冷 frigid; 寒冬 winter; 怕寒 sensitive to cold; 

寒门 impoverished family; 寒酸 shabby; 寒假 winter vacation

寒舍 my humble home; 

土

tu

earth, dust, soil

Signifies a mound of earth or soil. Also came from the model of male penis made from earth.

塞

sai

to stuff/plug/block

frontier, fortress

塞住 to clog; 塞车 traffic jam; 边塞 border fortress; 

闭塞 isolated (lit. blocked and narrow); 

a house (宀) reinforced with the mixture of hays (茻) and clay (土) to fill in the gaps and holes and to build a fortress 

贝

bei

shell,

money, currency

贝壳 Seashell; 宝贝 "Treasure" (also a term of endearment for children/loved ones)

The body () of shellfish is sticking out from its shell (冂). Purple-colored shellfish (贝) back in Yin (殷) and Jiu(周) Dynasties were used as currency

赛

sai

to compete, to contend

competition, contest

比赛 competition; 赛车 car race; 足球赛 soccer match

赛过 to outdo someone

in a house (宀 ) a huge amount of hay (two 艹 radicals) is pilled up to win a money-reward ((贝)) in a competition for the best plant-warehouse

冬

dong

winter

冬季 winter season; 寒冬 frigid winter

walk slowly on the ice during the winter

疼

teng

pain, ache;

to love dearly

头疼 headache; 肚子疼 stomachache; 牙疼 toothache

心疼 literally “heart hurts,” but can mean to feel distressed or care deeply for someone (emotionally painful)

winter sickness often brings a dull ache and a mild pain

图

tu

map, diagram, plan, picture

地图 map; 图表 chart; 图纸 blueprint; 图像 image / graphic

图腾 totem (borrowed term); 图谋 to plot; 图利 to seek profit

a "framed" (囗) winter (冬) on a painting by Pieter Bruegel, makes people think how to make a plan for the cold months 

终

zhong

to end, to finish

finally, in the end

终点 endpoint, finish line; 终于 finally; 最终 ultimately, finally

终生 lifelong (lit. end of life); 终身 lifelong; 终止 to terminate; 

终结 to conclude; 临终 on one’s deathbed (euphemistic);

the making of a silk (纟) threads lasts till the winter (冬) when all job ends