# I'm cold / It's cold



## Dymn

Hi,

I don't know if there has been any thread concerning the same topic, anyway here we go. 

I assume that all languages tell apart the personal sensation of coldness (_I'm cold_) and the general one (_It's cold_), even if the message conveyed is the same in the end. So the question is simple, how would you translate these sentences:

Catalan:
I'm cold: _Tinc fred _"I have cold"
It's cold: _Fa fred _"It makes cold"

Spanish:
I'm cold: _Tengo frío _"I have cold"
It's cold: _Hace frío _"It makes cold"

So both languages use nouns and not adjectives, as well as different verbs as English.

How about your language(s)?


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## Sardokan1.0

northern Sardinian :
1) _Happo frittu_ "I have cold"
2) _Tenzo frittu_ "I keep cold"
3) _Jutto frittu_ "I bring cold"; from verb "jùghere" = to bring toward someone, to bring something with you, also used as synonymous of to have 
(Latin "jungere" = to join, to unite, to bring together)
4) _B'hat frittu_ "literally : there has cold" : B' is the abbreviation of Bi (Latin "ibi" = there)
5) _Est fattende/faghende/fachende/faghinde frittu_ "it's making cold"

southern Sardinian :
1) _Happu fríus _"I have cold"_
2) Tengiu fríus _"I keep cold"_
3) Portu fríus _"I bring cold"
_4) Du hat fríus _"literally : there has cold" : Du (Latin "illu"), in northern Sardinian "Lu"_
5) Est fendi fríus _"it's making cold"_

Italian :_
1) _Ho freddo_ "I have cold"
2) _Fa freddo_ "It makes cold"
3) _C'è freddo_ "there is cold"


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## 810senior

Japanese doesn't tell them apart especially: I'm cold/it's cold samu-i (adjective for cold)
If you want to mention that you're cold, however, you can say samu-ke-ga suru(lit. cold-aired, meaning I feel cold) indeed.


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## DearPrudence

*French* is like Spanish & Catala:
I'm cold: *j'ai froid* _(I have cold)_
It's cold: *il fait froid* _(it makes cold)_


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## Mori.cze

Czech is rather straightforward:
_Je zima_ = _(it) is cold
Je mi zima_ = _(it) is cold to me_, i.e. _I am cold_

Direct translation of _I am cold_ o_r I have cold_ makes no sense in Czech (unless you perhaps are named Zima/cold or keep a pet of such name)
You can say "_dělá se zima_" / _it makes cold_, meaning that the temperature is going down and there is going to be cold soon.


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## ger4

German:

I'm cold: _Mir ist kalt _"me* is cold"
It's cold: _Es ist kalt _"it is cold"

* dative case


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## DearPrudence

Holger2014 said:


> German:
> I'm cold: _Mir ist kalt _"me* is cold"
> * dative case


Is it possible to say "*es is mir kalt*" (_it is cold to me_), which then became "mir ist kalt"?


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## Red Arrow

In *Dutch*:
I'm cold: *Ik heb het koud.* (I have it cold)
It's cold: *Het is koud.* (It is cold)


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## Nino83

There was a similar thread:
hot/cold (feeling) / hot/cold (object)

Sicilian:
I'm cold: haiu friddu (lit. I have cold), sentu friddu (lit. I feel cold)
It's cold: fa friddu (lit. makes cold), c'è friddu (lit. there is cold)


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## Pietruzzo

Sardokan1.0 said:


> I_talian :_
> 1) _Ho freddo_ "I have cold"


Also " sento freddo".
Anyway, I'm not sure that "I have cold" is correct in English.
Salentino:
I feel cold: "sentu friddu"
It's cold: "face friddu"


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## apmoy70

Greek:

I'm cold: MoGr ambitransitive v. *«κρυώνω»* [kriˈono]  --> _(intransitive) to be cold, feel the sensation of cold, cool down; (transitive) to make cold_.
In ancient Greek the deponent & denominative v. *«κρυόομαι/κρυοῦμαι» krŭóŏmai̯* (uncontracted)/*krŭoûmai̯* (contracted) expressed reflexivity --> _to be cold, feel the sensation of cold_ < Classical 3rd declension neuter noun *«κρύος» krúŏs* (nom. sing.), *«κρύεος» krúĕŏs* (gen. sing.) --> _icy cold, frost_ (with obscure etymology).

It's cold: Adverbial conditional clauses introduced with the impersonal verbs *«έχει»* [ˈeçi] --> _it has_ or *«κάνει»* [ˈkani] --> _it makes_  + MoGr neut. noun *«κρύο»* [kri.o] --> _cold_ i.e. *«έχει κρύο»* [ˈeçi ˈkri.o] --> _it has cold_, *«κάνει κρύο»* [ˈkani ˈkri.o] --> _it makes cold_.


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## ger4

DearPrudence said:


> Is it possible to say "*es ist mir kalt*" (_it is cold to me_), which then became "mir ist kalt"?


It is possible but would sound unusual (despite being a "typical German[ic]" construction with a dummy subject) while the expression we normally use - _mir ist kalt_ - is quite similar to the pattern in some Slavic languages like Czech, #5 , or Russian: _мне холодно/mne hólodno _"me (dative) cold".


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## 123xyz

Macedonian:

*ладно е - *lit. it's cold
*ладно ми е - *lit. it's cold to me (as in German and other Slavic languages)

*студено е - *lit. it's cold
*ми студи - *lit. it colds to me (студи is a verb meaning "to be cold")
*ми застуде/пристуде *- the inchoative version of the above - I find it to be a very elegant way of saying "I have started to feel cold", which sounds a bit bulky in English
*
*


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Am I correct in thinking we can say in French "Il commence à faire froid" for "It's getting cold/chilly" (temperature, as opposed to "Il refroidit" for food) and "Je commence à avoir froid" for "I'm starting to feel cold", "I'm getting chilly"? Merci!


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## jazyk

In Portuguese: I am cold - tenho frio (in Brazil more commonly Estou com frio).
It is cold - Está frio/Está fazendo/a fazer frio.


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## DearPrudence

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> Am I correct in thinking we can say in French "Il commence à faire froid"for "It's getting cold/chilly" (temperature, as opposed to "Il refroidit" for food (> rather "_Ça _refroidit") and "Je commence à avoir froid" for "I'm starting to feel cold", "I'm getting chilly"? Merci!


Yes, correct.


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## Awwal12

In Russian "it's cold" is translated by one adverb: холодно (kholodno) ['xoɫəd̪nə] (Russian omits the copula verb 'to be' in present tense).
"I am cold" is, respectively, мне холодно (mne kholodno) ['mnʲe 'xoɫəd̪nə] - "me (dat.) cold".


Mori.cze said:


> Czech is rather straightforward:
> _Je zima_ = _(it) is cold_





123xyz said:


> Macedonian:
> *ладно е - *lit. it's cold


 These unexpected semantic shifts look almost disturbing. Coldness is supposed to be a pretty basic concept (and Germanic languages demonstrate the same 1-2 roots for it indeed). Yet... "winter" (P-Sl. *zima)? "Well" (P-Sl. *ladĭno)?? Gosh.


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## 123xyz

> These unexpected semantic shifts look almost disturbing. Coldness is supposed to be a pretty basic concept (and Germanic languages demonstrate the same 1-2 roots for it indeed). Yet... "winter" (P-Sl. *zima)? "Well" (P-Sl. *ladĭno)?? Gosh.



There hasn't been any semantic shift in the Macedonian word "ладно". It's not cognate to Russian "ладно", but to "холодно". All that has happened is phonological evolution. In Macedonian, initial "х" has been lost before "л" (cf. Macedonian "леб" vs. Russian "хлеб"). Meanwhile, in Russian pleophony has occurred, just like in "золото". Notice that correspondence between the vocalic patterns in Macedonian "злато" and Russian "золото" is exactly the same as that between those in Macedonian "ладно" and Russian "холодно" (Ca vs. oCo)


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## Awwal12

123xyz said:


> There hasn't been any semantic shift in the Macedonian word "ладно". It's not cognate to Russian "ладно", but to "холодно".


Thanks, 123xyz, that's a partial relief. 
The word "хладно" looks familiar enough to Russians as well, you hardly need to explain it considering the overwhelming amount of loanwords from Church Slavonic in Russian (especially in poetic and more formal styles) which often result in productive models - cf., for instance, хладагент (cooling agent), хладокомбинат (refrigerating plant) etc.
/xl-/ > /l-/, though, was really unexpected.


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## amikama

Hebrew:

I'm cold - *קר לי* (lit. "cold to me")
It's cold - *קר* ("cold")


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Merci, DP.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Can we presume that the same goes for "I'm hot." vs. "It's hot." (in all languages)?


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## Encolpius

*Hungarian *

1. I am cold. - Fázom. (we can use only a verb, infinitive: fázni; unlike I am hot. )
2. It is cold. - Hideg van.
3. It is cold - Está frío - Hideg.

1. I am hot. - Melegem van. (meleg hot, melegem my hot, van (it) is, here we do not use verb, ie.: To me is hot (Like in German or Czech)
2. It is hot. - Meleg van.
3. It is hot. - Meleg. (if you touch the heater)


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## ger4

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> Can we presume that the same goes for "I'm hot." vs. "It's hot." (in all languages)?


In German it is the same (i.e. 'me is hot' vs 'it is hot')


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## apmoy70

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> Can we presume that the same goes for "I'm hot." vs. "It's hot." (in all languages)?


Not exactly in Greek.
While *«κρυώνω»* is an active voice ambitransitive verb, *«ζεσταίνομαι»* [zeˈstenome] is a mediopassive voice verb (mediopassive verbs usually express reflexivity in Greek) --> _I'm hot _literally _I feel the sensation of heat_ < Classical active verb *«ζέω» zéō* --> _to seethe, boil_ (PIE *ie̯s- _to boil, foam_ cf Skt येषति (yes̩ati), _to boil up, bubble_, Alb. ziej, _to simmer, boil_).
The verb in the ancient language was *«θέρω» tʰérō* (active voice) --> _to warm, heat, heat up_, *«θέρομαι» tʰérŏmai̯* (mediopassive voice) --> _I'm hot, feel the sensation of heat _< Classical nominal *«θερμός» tʰĕrmós* --> _warm, hot_ (PIE *gʷʰer-mo- _warm_ inherited IE nominal, identical with Skt. घर्म (gharma), Proto-Germanic *warmaz > Eng. warm etc).

It's hot: Adverbial conditional clauses introduced with the impersonal verbs *«έχει»* [ˈeçi] --> _it has_, or *«κάνει»* [ˈkani] --> _it makes_ + MoGr fem. noun *«ζέστη»* ['zesti] (fem.) --> _heat, warmth_ < Byzantine Gr. fem. noun *«ζέστη» zéstē* (also *«ζέστα» zéstā*) deriving from the v. *«ζέω»*: *«Έχει ζέστη»* [ˈeçi 'zesti] --> _it has heat_, *«κάνει ζέστη»* [ˈkani ˈzesti] --> _it makes heat_.

The summer heat-wave is *«καύσωνας»* [ˈkafsonas] (masc.) < Classical 3rd declension masc. noun *«καύσων» kaú̯sōn* (nom. sing.), *«καύσωνος» kaú̯sōnŏs* (gen. sing.) --> _heatwave, hot wind_ < Classical v. *«καίω» kaí̯ō* --> _to kindle, set on fire, burn_ (possibly from PIE *keh₂u- _to burn_ and possible cognate the Lith. kūlës, _firewood_).
It's very hot: *«Έχει/κάνει καύσωνα»* [ˈeçi ˈkafsona] --> _it has (a) heatwave_, *«κάνει καύσωνα»* [ˈkani ˈkafsona] --> _it makes (a) heatwave_ (impersonal v. + noun in accusative).


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## Dymn

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> Can we presume that the same goes for "I'm hot." vs. "It's hot." (in all languages)?


In Catalan and Spanish yes:

ca: _tinc fred, fa fred / tinc calor, fa calor_
es: _tengo frío, hace frío / tengo calor, hace calor_


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## spindlemoss

Welsh is pretty much like English in meaning:

*Dw i'n oer* [am I-particle cold] "I'm cold"

*Mae (hi)'n oer* [is (she)-particle cold] "It's/She's cold"

General "it" with things like weather and time are referred to with the feminine *hi* "she".


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## Armas

Finnish:

I'm cold:
_Palelen_, 1st person sg verb
_Minua palelee_, impersonal verb + object
_Minua paleltaa_, impersonal verb + object
_Minulla on kylmä_ "I have cold"
_Minulla on vilu_ "I have (sensation of) cold"

It's cold:
_On kylmä_ "is cold"

I'm hot:
_Minulla on kuuma_ "I have hot"

It's hot:
_On kuuma_ "is hot"


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