Frío Meaning in Spanish | Uses, Nuances, And Examples

“Frío” means “cold,” and it can describe temperature, chilly weather, cold food, or a distant tone, based on context.

“Frío” is one of those Spanish words that looks simple until you start using it. Sometimes it’s about the weather. Sometimes it’s about how you feel. Sometimes it’s about someone’s attitude. The good news: Spanish signals those meanings with clear patterns you can learn once and reuse.

Frío Meaning in Spanish With Everyday Context

“Frío” points to low temperature. It works as an adjective (agua fría) and as a noun (el frío). It can mean emotional distance too, when it describes a person, a message, or a reaction.

As An Adjective

As an adjective, “frío / fría” matches the noun in gender and number: frío, fría, fríos, frías.

• La sopa está fría. (The soup is cold.)
• Es un día frío. (It’s a cold day.)
• Su respuesta fue fría. (Her reply felt cold.)

As A Noun

As a noun, “el frío” is “the cold” as a general thing: the season, the chill, the feeling in a room.

• No soporto el frío.
• El frío de la mañana me despierta.

As A Figurative Description

When “frío” describes a person or their manner, it often means reserved, distant, or not emotionally expressive. Context sets the tone: it can be a neutral observation or a complaint.

Common pairings: tono frío, mirada fría, trato frío. These talk about how someone comes across, not their body temperature.

How Spanish Says “I’m Cold”

English can use “I’m cold” for both body sensation and the weather. Spanish splits that job across a few short patterns.

Tener Frío For Body Sensation

Tener frío is the everyday way to say you feel cold.

• Tengo frío.
• ¿Tienes frío?
• Los niños tienen frío.

You can add intensity with mucho: Tengo mucho frío.

Hacer Frío For Weather

Hace frío talks about the weather, not your body.

• Hoy hace frío.
• En enero hace frío aquí.

Estar Frío For A Thing’s Temperature

Estar frío is for objects, food, drinks, or places that are cold right now.

• El café está frío.
• La piscina está fría.

Ser Frío For A Stable Trait

Ser frío tends to describe a lasting manner or style.

• Él es frío con todo el mundo.
• El correo suena frío.

Spelling And Accent Mark: Why “Frío” Has A Tilde

“Frío” always carries an accent mark on the í. That tilde shows a vowel break: frí-o is two syllables. Spanish places a written accent on a stressed closed vowel (í, ú) next to an open vowel (a, e, o) in these hiatus patterns.

Two official references spell it out: the RAE explanation of hiatos and the DPD entry on tilde and hiatus accents.

Frío Vs Frio Vs Frió

These look similar on screen, so it helps to sort them by role.

Form	What It Is	Sample Use
frío	Adjective or noun meaning “cold”	El agua está fría • El frío llegó temprano
fría / fríos / frías	Adjective agreement forms	Una noche fría • manos frías
frio	Common misspelling without tilde	In standard writing it should be frío
frió	Past tense of freír (“to fry”)	Mi abuelo frió pescado ayer
frío (verb)	First person present of freír (“I fry”)	Yo frío los huevos
en frío	Idiom: calmly, after things settle	Hablemos en frío
sangre fría	Idiom: composure under pressure	Mantuvo la sangre fría
frío polar	Fixed phrase for intense cold	Se viene un frío polar

Context usually makes “frío” clear. Cooking words nearby point to freír. Weather, clothing, and comfort point to “cold.”

Meanings You’ll See In Dictionaries

The Diccionario de la lengua española entry for “frío” lists both the temperature sense and figurative senses tied to attitude. The DPD entry for “frío” adds usage notes like superlative forms (friísimo, frigidísimo).

When you read an entry, pay attention to labels like “adj.” and “m.” (masculine noun). Those labels match what you hear: adjective agreement in daily speech and the noun use in phrases like el frío.

Common Phrases With Frío

Many “frío” uses come in short phrases you can plug into new sentences.

Weather Talk

• Hace frío: general weather. Hace frío, ponte una chaqueta.
• Está haciendo frío: weather right now. Está haciendo frío en la noche.
• Un frente frío: cold front (news and forecasts).

Food And Drinks

• Servir frío: served cold. Este té se sirve frío.
• Tomar algo frío: drink something cold. Quiero tomar algo frío.
• Enfriarse: to get cold. La cena se enfrió.

Head And Heart Idioms

• En frío: after emotions drop. Decidámoslo en frío mañana.
• Sangre fría: composure. Tuvo sangre fría y resolvió el problema.

Choosing Between Frío, Fresco, And Helado

Spanish offers more than one “cold” word, and each one paints a different picture. “Frío” is the neutral choice. Fresco is cool or refreshing. Helado is icy or frozen, and it often carries strong emphasis.

Word	When It Fits	Sample Line
frío	General cold; body sensation, weather, objects	Tengo frío • El agua está fría
fresco	Cool, mild, refreshing	Hoy está fresco
helado	Icy, frozen; strong emphasis	Mis manos están heladas
gélido	Formal “ice-cold”	Un viento gélido
congelado	Frozen solid	El lago está congelado
templado	Mild, lukewarm	El agua está templada
tiritando	Shivering from cold	Estoy tiritando de frío

Mini Checklist To Sound Natural

• If you feel cold: tengo frío.
• If the weather is cold: hace frío.
• If something is cold right now: está frío / fría.
• If someone comes across detached: es frío / fría.
• Write the tilde: frío.