Translation guide
How to express 'cool down' in Japanese, covering physical cooling, emotional calming, and metaphorical uses.
Describing something (food, drink, weather, body) becoming less hot.
Intransitive verb for something hot naturally cooling down to room temperature. Used for food, drinks, bathwater, etc.
The soup cooled down.
Please drink the tea before it cools down.
Intransitive verb for something becoming cold, often from an external cause or over time. Used for weather, body parts, or things that get chilly.
It cools down at night, so you should bring a jacket.
My hands and feet get cold and I can't sleep.
Transitive verb for cooling something down intentionally. Used when you actively cool food, drinks, etc.
I cooled down the hot coffee and then drank it.
Cool down the rice with a fan.
Transitive verb for actively chilling something, often using ice or refrigeration. Stronger than 冷ます.
Please cool down the beer in the fridge.
Becoming less angry, excited, or agitated.
Intransitive verb meaning to calm down, settle down, or regain composure. The most common and natural way to say 'cool down' emotionally.
Cool down a bit.
Literally 'cool one's head', meaning to cool down one's anger or excitement. Often used as advice.
To become calm and composed. Slightly more formal than 落ち着く.
Making a heated argument, conflict, or romantic involvement less intense.
Performing light activity to gradually lower heart rate after a workout.
冷める (sameru) is used when something hot returns to room temperature (e.g., soup, tea). 冷える (hieru) is used when something becomes cold, often from an external source or weather (e.g., body, night air). 冷める implies a loss of heat, while 冷える implies becoming chilly.
The bath cooled down (lost its heat).
It's gotten chilly as night fell.
冷める is not used for a person calming down emotionally. Use 落ち着く or 頭を冷やす instead. Saying 人が冷める would mean the person's body temperature cooled down, not their emotions.
He was angry, but gradually cooled down.
You should cool down (your head).
I'll go for a walk and cool down.
First, cool down and explain the situation.
If you don't cool down, you'll get muscle pain.