Important: Are you interested in knowing how to translate the English slang term cool into Italian? Then head on over to our dedicated article where we talk about the five different ways of translating this word!
The word for cool or chilly in Italian, in the literal sense of a low temperature, is fresco.
Because fresco is an adjective, the ending changes in accordance with the gender and number of the subject:
- fresco = masculine, singular
- fresca = feminine, singular
- freschi = masculine, plural
- fresche = feminine, plural
Something you’ll hear all Italians say as summer turns to autumn is Fa fresco! (It’s chilly!) and Fa freschino! / Fa freschetto! (It’s a bit chilly!)
Fa un po’ fresco oggi. Mi sa che mi metto la giacca.
It’s a bit chilly today. I think I’m going to put on my jacket.
Mettere al fresco means to put in a cool place such as a fridge whereas tenere in fresco means to keep in a cool place.
Metto il vino al fresco prima della cena di stasera.
I’ll chill the wine (put the wine in a cool place) before supper tonight.
Fresco has a few other translations besides cool, one of most common being fresh. For example, freshly baked bread is referred to as pane fresco whereas fresh fruit is frutta fresca.
Vado al mercato a comprare del pesce fresco.
I’m going to the market to buy fresh fish.
Another possible translation is new, newly-made or refreshed, and can be used to describe anything from the latest news (notizia fresca) and wet paint (vernice fresca) to newly-weds (sposini freschi) or the feeling of being mentally refreshed (mente fresca) after a nap or a rest.
Now let’s move on to some of the more idiomatic uses of fresco!
A great expression in Italian is stare fresco which means to find oneself in a difficult or bad situation. From this comes the exclamation Stai fresco! which roughly translates as Yeah right! or Think again!
Mi presti €100,000? – Eh sì, stai fresco!
Will you lend me €100,000? – Hah, yeah right!
Fresco also works as a euphemistic term for prison, probably because the prison cells of the past were infamously cold! If you break the law, you may well end up in prison (finire al fresco) and the length of time you stay in prison (stare al fresco) will depend on the gravity of the crime.
For this reason, never say that you want to eat al fresco in Italy. The waiter will think that you want to eat in prison, not outdoors!
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
