caliente
temperature, Mexico
In Mexico "hot" depends on what you mean. For objects and drinks use caliente, for the weather say hace calor, and for spicy food use picante.
Meaning: high temperature or spicy (adjective)
Ways to say it
| Mexican | Note |
|---|---|
| caliente | temperature, Mexico |
| Hace calor | weather |
| Picante | spicy food |
Mexicans often stress it with bien, as in Está bien caliente for "it is really hot".
Which one should you use?
Spanish keeps these ideas apart. Say El café está caliente for temperature, Hace calor for heat in the air and La salsa está picante for chili heat.
How does it change in a sentence?
For a person feeling warm say tengo calor, not estoy caliente, because the second phrase has a sexual meaning in Mexico.
Did you know?
- Mexican Spanish also uses picoso for spicy food, a word less common in Spain.
Examples in context
- La sopa está muy caliente.The soup is very hot.
- Hoy hace mucho calor.It is very hot today.
- ¿Esta salsa pica mucho?Is this sauce very spicy?
Example conversation
Rita orders lunch at a market stall in Oaxaca.
- Rita¿Esta salsa es picante?Is this sauce spicy?
- VendedorSí, está bien picosa.Yes, it is very spicy.
- RitaEntonces poquita, y un café caliente.Then just a little, and a hot coffee.
