“tsumetai” vs “samui” vs “suzushii”：What is the Difference?
What is the difference between “冷たい (tsumetai), 寒い (samui), and 涼しい”? They have subtle differences. If you go out and it is chilly, which is correct: 冷たい, 寒い or 涼しい”? What about “cold”?After reading this, you would be answering this question. Let me introduce what their subtle differences are and how you correctly use them such as native speakers today!
冷たい (tsumetai)
Cold / 冰凉 / 차가운 / Lạnh
“冷たい (tsumetai)” means “Cold” and which has been used as the meaning of “at a low temperature, or not showing kindness, love, or emotion”. “冷たい” can describe something or temperature itself, or a person’s personality, unlike “寒い” and “涼しい”. The basic way to use it is “___(something/people)は/が冷たいです”. For instance, “この氷は冷たいです。(This ice is cold.)”, “この水は冷たいです。(This water is cold.)”, “彼は冷たいです。(He is cold.)” etc. Only “冷たい” which can describe “the person’s personality” in three words. Also 冷たい is a bit more like icy/chilly/freezing than just cold.
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Sample
yuka雨が超冷たいー。 (The rain is very cold!) (雨水好冰凉啊——) (비 엄청 차가워!) (Trời mưa là cực lạnh luôn.) (ame ga chō tsumetai-.)
tatsuya冷たっ！ (Cold!) (好冰！) (앗 차가워!) (Lạnh quá!) (tsumeta!)
yuka冷たい人だね！ (Cold attitude!) (真是个冷酷的人！) (차가운 사람이구나!) (Đúng là một người lạnh lùng nhỉ!) (tsumetai hitoda ne!)
寒い (samui)
Chilly, Cold / 寒冷 / 추운 / Lạnh, Rét
“寒い (samui)” means “Chilly / Cold” and which has been used as the meaning of “Something that is chilly is unpleasantly cold”. “寒い” can describe only whether or climate, not to describe a person’s personality, unlike “冷たい”. The basic way to use it is “___(something)は/が寒いです” such as “今日は寒いです。(It is chilly/cold today.). Also, 寒い can describe a kind of human sense which is one of the slang, however, it is not a dirty word. So when your friend tells jokes and it is not that funny, you would be able to say “寒い(笑)” or “寒っ(笑)”.
Sample
tatsuya夜はまだ寒いよ！ (It’s still chilly at night!) (晚上还是很冷啊！) (밤은 아직 추워!) (Ban đêm vẫn lạnh đấy!) (yoru wa mada samui yo!)
yuka寒っ！ (Chilly!) (好冷！) (앗 추워!) (Lạnh quá!) (samu!)
tatsuya冬は寒いから嫌いだよー！ (I don’t like winter cuz it’s chilly!) (我讨厌冬天，因为太冷了！) (겨울은 추우니까 싫어!) (Mùa đông rất lạnh nên tôi ghét mùa đông lắm!) (fuyu wa samui kara kirai dayo-!)
涼しい (suzushī)
Cool / 凉爽 / 시원한 / Mát mẻ
“涼しい (suzushī)” means “Cool” and which has been used as the meaning of “a temperature that is slightly cold in a pleasant way”. “涼しい” can describe only whether or climate, not to describe the person’s personality, unlike “冷たい”. The basic way to use it is “___(something)は/が涼しいです” such as “今日は涼しいです。(It is cool today.). The difference between “寒い” and “涼しい” is that “寒い” is used in an unpleasant way and “涼しい” is used in a pleasant way for only whether or climate. Furthermore “冷たい” is used for something or temperature itself, and the person’s personality.
Sample
yuka最近涼しくなってきたよ！ (It’s getting cooler!) (最近变凉快了！) (요즘 시원해졌어~) (Gần đây thời tiết đã trở nên mát mẻ hơn đấy!) (saikin suzushiku nattekita yo!)
tatsuyaもっと涼しい所に行こうよ！ (Let’s go somewhere cooler!) (我们去一个更凉爽的地方吧！) (좀 더 시원한 곳으로 가자~!) (Cùng đến một nơi mát mẻ hơn thôi nào!) (motto suzushī tokoro ni ikou yo!)
yuka北海道の夏は涼しくて過ごしやすいよ！ (It’s cooler and more pleasant in Hokkaido during the summer.) (北海道的夏天很凉快，非常舒服哦！) (홋카이도의 여름은 시원하고 살기 좋아!) (Mùa hè ở Hokkaido thì mát mẻ và dễ chịu lắm!) (hokkaidō no natsu wa suzushiku te sugoshiyasui yo!)
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