寒い
samui[sa̠mɯ̟i]
The English phrase "the weather is cold" is translated into Japanese as 寒い (samui).
寒い is a statement used to describe a low air temperature. In casual conversation, Japanese speakers often omit the subject and simply say 寒い to mean "It's cold." Related words you might encounter include kion (temperature) and kaze (wind).
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the statement polite and suitable for most social situations, add the auxiliary verb です to the end to get 寒いです. If you want to express that the weather was cold in the past, change the final vowel to the past tense form 寒かった.
How do you pronounce it?
samui
Did you know?
- The adjective 寒い is used in a slang sense to describe a joke or a situation that is 'unfunny' or 'cringeworthy' because it fails to get a reaction.
- You should never use 寒い to describe a cold object, like a drink or a piece of metal. For those, you must use a different word, 冷たい, otherwise you might sound like you are personifying the object.
- Japanese people frequently use 寒い as a 'social lubricant' to initiate polite small talk with strangers.
Examples in context
- 寒い。The weather is cold.This sentence is useful for stating that the weather is cold using 寒い.Tatoeba #5183 by bunbuku, translation #1766684 by AlanF_US
- 今日はとても寒いです。kyou wa totemo samui desu.It is very cold today.
- 外は寒いですよ。soto wa samui desu yo.It is cold outside.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two siblings are preparing to go outside.
- 陽葵 Himari外は寒いかな？soto wa samui kana?I wonder if it's cold outside?
- 陽太 Yotaうん、すごく寒いよ。un, sugoku samui yo.Yeah, it's really cold.
- 陽葵 Himariじゃあ、コートを着よう。jaa, kooto o kiyou.Then, let's put on coats.
- 陽太 Yotaわかった。wakatta.Okay.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 寒い, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
