Phrase guide

cold hands, warm heart

proverb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

proverb

Meaning 1

Having cold hands is an indication of warmheartedness; used as a rejoinder if one finds that another's hands are cold.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

A calque translation of French froides mains, chaudes amours.

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: froides mains, chaudes amours — having cold hands is an indication of warmheartedness
  • German: kalte Hand, warmes Herz — having cold hands is an indication of warmheartedness
  • Italian: mani fredde, cuore caldo — having cold hands is an indication of warmheartedness
  • Portuguese: mãos frias, coração quente — having cold hands is an indication of warmheartedness
  • Russian: холо́дные ру́ки, горя́чее се́рдце (xolódnyje rúki, gorjáčeje sérdce) — having cold hands is an indication of warmheartedness
  • Spanish: manos frías, corazón caliente — having cold hands is an indication of warmheartedness