Translation guide
The English verb 'freeze' covers several distinct meanings: turning into ice, becoming very cold, stopping movement, and preserving food. This guide organizes Japanese expressions by these practical uses.
Describing water or other liquids turning into ice due to cold temperatures.
The most common verb for water or liquids freezing. Intransitive.
The water froze.
The lake is frozen.
More formal or technical term for freezing, often used for pipes, accounts, or processes. Can be transitive or intransitive.
The water pipes froze.
Literary or technical term for freezing into ice. Rare in everyday speech.
The lake surface froze over.
Describing a person or body part feeling extremely cold, or weather being freezing.
Intransitive verb meaning to be freezing cold, often used for body parts or a person feeling chilled to the bone.
My hands are freezing.
It's freezing cold.
Common phrase meaning 'cold enough to freeze'.
Tonight is freezing cold.
Means to become thoroughly chilled, often for body or room. Intransitive.
Describing a person or animal suddenly stopping all movement, often from fear or surprise.
Literally 'to harden', but commonly used for freezing up or becoming stiff from shock. Intransitive.
He froze in fear.
Specifically means to stand frozen in place, often from shock or fear.
Loanword from English, often used for computers freezing or a person freezing up in casual speech.
My computer froze.
Putting food in a freezer to keep it fresh for a long time.
Officially stop or fix something like bank accounts, wages, or prices.
凍る (kooru) is for natural freezing (water turning to ice). For freezing food intentionally, use 冷凍する (reitou suru).
凍える (kogoeru) implies freezing cold, often painful. 冷える (hieru) just means to get cold/chilly. Use 凍える for 'freezing' in the sense of extreme cold.
It's freezing outside!
Freeze! Don't move!
In commands, Japanese uses 'Don't move!' rather than a direct translation of 'freeze'.
体が冷え切った。
My body is freezing cold.
I just froze on the spot.
She froze in surprise.
料金を据え置く。
to freeze prices