冻僵 (dòng jiāng) is a verb meaning 'to freeze stiff' or 'to become numb and immobile from extreme cold.' The first character 冻 (dòng) means 'to freeze' or 'cold-related,' while 僵 (jiāng) conveys stiffness, rigidity, or paralysis — often due to cold, shock, or illness. Together, they describe the physical state where limbs or the whole body lose warmth, sensation, and mobility because of prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures.

This term is commonly used in medical, survival, or descriptive contexts — for example, describing someone stranded in snow, an animal left outdoors in winter, or even metaphorically (though rarely) to express emotional numbness. It implies severity: not just feeling cold, but approaching hypothermia or actual tissue damage. While it can be used literally for people and animals, it’s more frequent in written or formal spoken Chinese than in casual daily speech, where simpler terms like '冻坏了' (dòng huài le, 'got badly frozen') may prevail.