凄凉 qīliáng desolate (place)
desolate (place); mournful; miserable
How to remember 凄凉: 凄 bitter cold + 凉 cool = desolate (place).
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How it is used
- 'Desolate, bleak, forlorn' - a mournful mood attached to a scene or a life: 晚景凄凉 (wǎnjǐng qīliáng) a bleak, lonely old age; 凄凉的月光 (desolate moonlight).
- Literary and sorrowful; combines physical desolation with emotional sadness, unlike a neutral 荒凉 (huāngliáng, barren) which is just physically deserted.