ter fame / ter sede / ter frío

Ter for Physical Feelings

Level 1

Where English says "I am hungry", Galician says "I have hunger": Teño fame. The same pattern gives ter sede (to be thirsty), ter frío (to be cold) and more.

How It Works

The common expressions

  • ter fame (to be hungry): a fame, feminine
  • ter sede (to be thirsty): a sede, feminine
  • ter frío (to be cold): o frío, masculine
  • ter calor (to be hot): a calor, feminine in Galician
  • ter sono (to be sleepy): o sono, masculine
  • ter medo (to be afraid): o medo, masculine; afraid of uses de: Teño medo dos cans
  • ter présa (to be in a hurry): a présa, feminine

Saying "very". Since these are nouns, you do not use moi (very). Use moito with masculine nouns and moita with feminine nouns: Teño moita fame, Teño moito frío, Tes moita calor? See moi vs moito and gender differences from Spanish, because a calor is masculine in Spanish but feminine in Galician.

Not ser. Using ser changes the meaning: Son frío describes a cold, distant personality, not feeling cold. For the weather itself, Galician uses facer: Fai frío (It is cold). See talking about the weather.

For the forms of ter, see the present of ter.

Examples (6)

  1. Teño moita fame.

    I am very hungry.

    Word by Word: I-have much hunger.

  2. Tes sede?

    Are you thirsty?

    Word by Word: You-have thirst?

  3. Temos frío, pechamos a fiestra?

    We are cold, shall we close the window?

    Word by Word: We-have cold, we-close the window?

  4. O neno ten sono.

    The child is sleepy.

    Word by Word: The child has sleep.

  5. Teño medo dos cans grandes.

    I am afraid of big dogs.

    Word by Word: I-have fear of-the dogs big.

  6. Non podo falar agora, teño présa.

    I cannot talk now, I am in a hurry.

    Word by Word: Not I-can talk now, I-have hurry.

Common Mistakes

  • Using masculine moito with a feminine noun.

    Teño moito fame.
    Teño moita fame.

    Fame is feminine (a fame), so "very hungry" is moita fame.

  • Treating calor as masculine, as in Spanish.

    Teño moito calor.
    Teño moita calor.

    In Galician the noun is feminine: a calor. So you say moita calor.

  • Using ser, as in "I am cold".

    Son frío.
    Teño frío.

    Son frío means "I am a cold person". To say you feel cold, use ter frío.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ter fame / ter sede / ter fríoLevel 1Ter for Physical Feelings

Learn This First

Ter combines with nouns for physical feelings.

Words in This Pattern

ter famefamesedesonofrío