Word

冰山一角 (bīng shān yī jiǎo) — Chinese word meaning

HSK 7

冰山一角 (bīng shān yī jiǎo) is a Chinese word: tip of the iceberg. This page shows its pinyin, translation, example sentences, character breakdown, decomposition, and HSK level.

Meaning of 冰山一角

成语 chéng yǔ idiom

tip of the iceberg

这些腐败案件只是冰山一角,问题比我们想象的严重得多。

zhè xiē fǔ bài àn jiàn zhǐ shì bīng shān yī jiǎo wèn tí bǐ wǒ men xiǎng xiàng de yán zhòng de duō

These corruption cases are just the tip of the iceberg; the problem is much more serious than we imagine.

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Word breakdown

冰 bīng — ice (forming 'iceberg' with 山)

山 shān — mountain (forming 'iceberg')

一 yī — one (indicating a small portion)

角 jiǎo — corner/tip (the visible part)

Structure & writing
1 冰 bīng — ice; solid water formed at or below 0°C

冰 is not used as a component in any other character.

consists of

Stroke order

2 山 shān — mountain; hill
山 is a component in 33 characters
Show more HSK 6 characters (+1)
Show more HSK 7 characters (+18)

山 is an atomic character — it does not decompose further.

Stroke order

3 一 yī — the smallest positive integer; one (①used before a measure word ②used before a noun ③indicates a single action or a brief/tentative action)
一 is a component in 58 characters
Show more HSK 1 characters (+10)
Show more HSK 3 characters (+7)
Show more HSK 7 characters (+9)

一 is an atomic character — it does not decompose further.

Stroke order

4 角 jiǎo — horn (hard growth on an animal's head, typically long, curved, and pointed)
Xpinyin
角 is a component in 5 characters

consists of

Stroke order