凄

Originally associated with coldness, 凄 developed emotional meanings such as loneliness, desolation, and sorrowful atmosphere.

A phono-semantic compound consisting of:

冫 (ice radical) — semantic component, indicating coldness;

妻 — phonetic component, providing the sound 처 (qī).

The original idea is “cold like ice.”

From physical coldness, the meaning extended metaphorically to emotional chill — loneliness, sorrow, desolation.

처량 (凄涼 / 悽涼) — forlorn; desolate

처참 (凄慘 / 悽慘) — miserable; tragic

비참 (悲慘) — tragic (often paired semantically)

凄 differs from related characters:

冷 — cold (neutral temperature)

寒 — cold (seasonal or climatic cold)

悽 — sorrowful (emotional emphasis)

淒 — bleak, chilling atmosphere

慘 — miserable; tragic

凄 sits between physical coldness and emotional desolation.

Relationship with 悽 and 淒:

悽 — emphasizes emotional sorrow (heart radical)

淒 — emphasizes watery chill or bleak atmosphere

凄 — emphasizes coldness (ice radical)

In Mainland China, 凄 serves as the simplified form of 悽.

Thus, in modern Chinese:

凄凉 = desolate (historically 淒涼 or 悽涼)

In Korean, the traditional distinction is usually maintained in Hanja dictionaries.

Classical citations:

《楚辭》 (The Songs of Chu)

「淒淒兮秋風」

“Bleak, bleak is the autumn wind.”

《文選》 (Wen Xuan)

「淒其以風露」

“Bleak beneath the wind and dew.”

These examples show its association with autumn wind, dusk, and sorrowful scenery.