Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Cold: Having a low temperature; not warm or hot. This is the primary meaning, describing the physical temperature of objects, weather, or substances.
   • Emotionally cold / indifferent: Describing a person's demeanor, expression, or attitude as lacking warmth, friendliness, or emotion.
   • Chilling / eerie: Causing a shiver of fear, dread, or apprehension.

2. Verb (used with 'cảm thấy', 'thấy'):

   • To feel cold: To experience the sensation of low temperature.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Trời hôm nay rất lạnh. (The weather is very cold today.)
  • Cô ấy đáp lại bằng một thái độ lạnh lùng. (She replied with a cold attitude.)
  • Câu chuyện đó nghe thật lạnh sống lưng. (That story sends a chill down the spine.)
• Verb sense:
  • Tôi cảm thấy lạnh. (I feel cold.)

Advanced Usage

• "lạnh nhạt": to be cold and indifferent, to treat someone with aloofness.
  • Sau cãi vã, anh ta đối xử lạnh nhạt với tôi. (After the argument, he treated me with cold indifference.)
• "lạnh tanh": ice-cold; utterly cold and desolate (often for atmosphere or objects).
  • Căn phòng trống không, lạnh tanh. (The empty room was ice-cold and desolate.)
• "màu lạnh": cool colors (e.g., blue, green, grey).
  • Họa sĩ thường dùng màu lạnh để vẽ phong cảnh mùa đông. (Painters often use cool colors to paint winter landscapes.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lạnh giá (adj): bitterly cold, freezing.
  • Một đêm đông lạnh giá. (A freezing winter night.)
• Lạnh buốt (adj): piercingly cold, cold that chills to the bone.
  • Gió từ sông thổi vào lạnh buốt. (The wind from the river blew in, piercingly cold.)
• Lạnh lẽo (adj): cold and bleak, desolate (often for places or atmospheres).
  • Ngôi nhà cũ trông thật lạnh lẽo. (The old house looked bleak and cold.)
• Làm lạnh (v): to cool, to refrigerate.
  • Hãy làm lạnh chai rượu trước khi dùng. (Please chill the wine bottle before serving.)

Synonyms

• Cold: low temperature.
• Chilly: unpleasantly cold.
• Frigid: very cold in temperature or manner.
• Aloof: emotionally distant and reserved.

Related Idioms

• Lạnh như tiền: as cold as ice/cash; describes someone or something extremely cold and unfeeling.
  • Ánh mắt của ông ấy lạnh như tiền. (His gaze was as cold as ice.)
• Lạnh gáy / lạnh sống lưng: to send a chill down one's spine; to be terrified or deeply unsettled.
  • Tiếng hú trong đêm khiến tôi lạnh gáy. (The howl in the night sent a chill down my spine.)
• Cơm đã nguội lạnh: The rice has gone cold; implies an opportunity has been missed or a situation has soured due to delay.

adj

1. cold
   • trời lạnh
     It is cold