寒冬 hándōng cold winter
How to remember 寒冬: 寒 freezing + 冬 winter = cold winter.
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How it is used
- A cold, harsh winter: 寒冬腊月 (hándōng làyuè) the depths of winter.
- Often figurative for a bleak, difficult period: 经济寒冬 (economic winter), 资本寒冬 (funding winter).
- Literary/vivid; more evocative than plain 冬天.