冰
“ice”
冰 (bīng, "ice") can be Chinese drug slang for meth when the context is drugs, crime, or coded speech. The fuller formal term is 冰毒.
Ice. Frozen water. Also a common character in words about coldness, freezing, and chilled food or drinks.
Drug slang for methamphetamine, matching the English metaphor "ice." The phrase 冰毒 is the formal direct term; standalone 冰 can be a shortened coded form when context is clear.
冰 is another ordinary-word trap. Most of the time it just means ice: 冰水, 冰箱, 冰淇淋. But in drug context, especially when shortened from 冰毒, it can mean meth.
The English parallel helps learners remember it, but the register is serious. This is not a cute internet meme term. It belongs to crime, addiction, anti-drug education, and darker drama contexts.
Pair this page internally with 白粉 and K粉 so the cluster separates harmless literal meanings from taboo drug-register meanings.
Normal everyday use
我要一杯冰水。
"I want a glass of ice water."
Explaining a shortened term
这里的冰不是冰块，是冰毒的简称。
"The 冰 here is not ice cubes; it's short for meth."
Teaching context dependence
同一个字，在菜单上很普通，在案情里就很危险。
"The same character is ordinary on a menu and dangerous in a case report."
冰 (bīng) literally means "ice." In drug-related context, it can refer to methamphetamine, especially as a shortened form of 冰毒.
冰毒 (bīngdú) is the direct Chinese term for methamphetamine. 冰 alone can work as a shorter coded form when the context already points to drugs.
Look at context. Food, drinks, weather, and appliances usually mean literal ice. Crime, addiction, police, or drug-discussion context can make 冰 mean meth.
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