How to Write 霜 (shuāng) — Meaning “Frost”

Picture a window covered in frost: the rain radical 雨 represents the moisture, and the 相 below looks like two ice crystals forming a pattern. You can also recall the phrase "shuang" sounds like "shoo-ang" — imagine shooing away rain, leaving frost.

Write the top 雨 radical with 8 strokes, making sure it is wide enough to cover the bottom part. The bottom 相 has 9 strokes; keep the left side (木) narrower than the right side (目). A common mistake is making the 雨 too small or the 相 too tall.

霜 (shuāng) means frost, with 雨 over 相. 霄 (xiāo) means sky or clouds, with 雨 over 肖 (small), so it refers to high atmosphere. 霂 (mù) is a rare character for fine rain, with 雨 over 沐 (wash). Only 霜 relates to frozen water on surfaces.

霜 commonly appears in words like 面霜 (miàn shuāng, face cream) and 结霜 (jié shuāng, to frost over). It is also the name of a solar term: 霜降 (shuāng jiàng, Frost Descent), around October 23, marking colder weather and the first frost.

Common words containing 霜 include: 面霜 (miàn shuāng) — Face cream; 结霜 (jié shuāng) — To frost over.; 霜降 (shuāng jiàng) — Frost Descent (one of the 24 solar terms).