[General] I am afraid of the cold?

[maoyueh]

Is it natural to say "I am afraid of the cold"? I know that there are several ways of saying the same sentence, though. For example, I can't stand/bear/take the cold, I feel the cold more, I feel the cold a lot, and The cold bothers me. I ask this question because it seems to me that "I am afraid of the cold" is Chinese English. Thank you a lot.

 

[emsr2d2]

It sounds unnatural to me. I can understand people being afraid of certain weather phenomena (tornadoes, for example), but I've never heard of anyone being afraid of the cold. They might not like it and they might feel uncomfortable but is it scary? I don't think so. Of course, if someone were heading somewhere which has abnormally low temperatures, the idea of being in those temperatures might scare them.

 

[Matthew Wai]

If the OP is thinking about “怕冷” in his/her native language, I would liberally translate it as 'to be sensitive to cold'.

"I am afraid of the cold" is Chinese English.

It is Chinglish.

 

[Tdol]

I feel the cold (badly) would work in English as a natural translation to me.

 

[Matthew Wai]

'This plant is sensitive to cold.' :tick:
'This plant feels the cold badly.' :cross:

Am I right or wrong?

 

[MikeNewYork]

You are right.

 

[Skrej]

Well, apparently there is such a thing as frigophobia, fear of the cold. It's worth noting however that it supposedly (as far as one can trust Wikipedia) has links to hypochondria and OCD.

I doubt that's the context the OP is trying to use the phrase in, however.

There are also dictionary entries for cheimatophobia as well as cryophobia, the latter being more a fear of the manifestations of cold - ice and frost.

 

[MikeNewYork]

There are people who have medical reasons to fear cold. Two examples would be people with Raynaud's disease and Raynaud's phenomenon. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/raynauds-disease/basics/causes/con-20022916

 

[emsr2d2]

Wouldn't a Raynaud's sufferer be more likely to say something like "I'm afraid of getting cold" rather than "I'm afraid of the cold"?

 

[Matthew Wai]

Well, apparently there is such a thing as frigophobia, fear of the cold.

The thread title is simply a literal translation from the OP's native language, and that has nothing to with the above thing.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Ems, I don't think so. Raynaud's patients suffer physical changes from exposure to cold. In the worst cases, it can lead to gangrene.