how to say “coolness” in Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קור-רוח-1.m4a” /]קוֹר רוּחַ

When I was in junior high school, it was important to earn good grades and to get along with my parents, but far more than anything else, it was important to be cool.

I’m not talking about cool weather or cool water. In Hebrew, the word for those is קריר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קור-רוח-2.m4a” /], a diminutive of קר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קור-רוח-3.m4a” /] – cold. Rather, a person who is cool in Hebrew could be described (when referring to a male) as מגניב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קור-רוח-4.m4a” /] (possibly deriving from the English word magnificent), אלוף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קור-רוח-5.m4a” /] (literally, a general), תותח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קור-רוח-6.m4a” /] (literally, a cannon) or any one of many other appellations, the common denominator of which is that the person is admired. (The feminine versions of the above are מגניבה, אלופה, תותחית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קור-רוח-7.m4a” /].)

But what does it really mean to be cool? What does the English metaphor cool imply? I believe that Hebrew’s equivalent of this quality of coolness says it all: קור רוח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קור-רוח-1.m4a” /] – literally, coldness of spirit. This doesn’t mean that a cool person is cold and distant. Rather, this person doesn’t get upset easily, remaining unmoved despite pressure. This person’s spirit doesn’t get heat up in the face of fire.

For example:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קור-רוח-8.m4a” /]לשוטרת הזאת יש קור רוח נדיר מאוד.

This (female) cop has a rare coolness to her.

Another expression that sounds and looks a lot like קור רוח is קורת רוח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קור-רוח-9.m4a” /], but this expression refers to the satisfaction that comes when the spirit has calmed down after having been unsatisfied.