刺骨 cìgǔ piercing
piercing; cutting; bone-chilling; penetrating (cold)
How to remember 刺骨: 刺 to stab + 骨 bone = piercing.
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How it is used
- Bone-chilling - used almost exclusively for penetrating cold - 寒风刺骨 (hánfēng cìgǔ) the cold wind cuts to the bone.
- Intensifier for cold; 冷得刺骨 (so cold it pierces the bones).
- Vivid, slightly literary; don't use it for merely 'very cold' in casual speech where 很冷 fits.