tengo frío
/tenɡo fɾio/from spelling rules
In Spanish, the phrase for "I am cold" is tengo frío.
You use tengo frío to express that you are experiencing the physical sensation of feeling a low temperature. If you want to emphasize the intensity of the feeling, you can say Tengo mucho frío to mean "I am very cold."
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "I have cold".
How does it change in a sentence?
Because this phrase uses the verb *tener* (to have) followed by the noun frío, the word frío does not change its form to match the gender of the speaker.
How do you pronounce it?
/tenɡo fɾio/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid saying soy frío. In Spanish, soy frío describes a personality trait (being a cold or unemotional person) rather than the physical sensation of temperature. To express the sensation, always use tengo frío.
Did you know?
- The phrase tengo frío is used differently than estoy frío, which is often used in a forensic context to describe a dead body.
- Spanish speakers use the verb tener (to have) for many physical sensations, such as tengo hambre for 'I am hungry' and tengo sed for 'I am thirsty'.
- The Spanish word frío is a distant relative of the English words 'fridge' and 'refrigerator'.
Examples in context
- Creo que tengo frío.I think I am cold.Tatoeba #436988 by lukaszpp, translation #436987 by lukaszpp
- Tengo frío.I am cold.Tatoeba #436326 by lukaszpp, translation #436325 by lukaszpp
Example conversation
Elena and Alejandro are sitting in a living room.
- ElenaTengo frío en los pies.My feet are cold.
- AlejandroUsa estos calcetines, Elena.Use these socks, Elena.
- ElenaGracias, Alejandro, ahora estoy mejor.Thanks, Alejandro, I am better now.
- AlejandroDe nada, que descanses.You're welcome, relax.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries frío, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
