qué calor
/ke kaloɾ/from spelling rules
The English phrase "how hot" is translated into Spanish as qué calor.
You can use the adjective caliente to mean hot, or ardiente to mean burning. If the heat is extreme, you might say Hace un calor insoportable (It's unbearably hot) or if the weather is muggy, you can say Hace un bochorno terrible (It's terribly muggy). To cool down, you might use the verb abanicarse, which means to fan oneself.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, qué calor translates to "what heat".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some Latin American countries, particularly in the Caribbean, people use ¿Cómo está la bochornita? to refer to how hot and humid it feels.
How does it change in a sentence?
When describing the weather, Spanish uses the verb hacer (to make/do) instead of ser or estar. For example, hace calor means "it is hot". If you want to say you are feeling the heat (e.g., "I am hot"), use the verb tener (to have) with calor, such as tengo calor.
How do you pronounce it?
/ke kaloɾ/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid saying qué caliente to describe the weather. While caliente means hot, it is used for the temperature of objects or food, whereas calor refers to the sensation of heat in the environment or the body.
Did you know?
- If you say estoy caliente instead of tengo calor to mean you feel hot, you might accidentally imply that you are feeling sexually aroused.
- Spanish has a specific word bochorno for muggy heat that can also mean 'embarrassment' or 'shame' in certain contexts.
- The English word 'calorie', which measures energy in food, shares the same Latin ancestor as calor, meaning 'heat'.
Examples in context
- ¡Qué calor hace!How hot it is!Tatoeba #1705361 by marcelostockle, translation #36081 by Mediabat
- ¿Cómo está la bochornita hoy? / ¡Hace un calor sofocante!How's the humidity today? / It's incredibly hot!
- ¡Qué calor hace en este coche!How hot it is in this car!
Example conversation
Daniel and Lucía are walking outside on a summer afternoon.
- Daniel¡Qué calor hace hoy, Lucía!How hot it is today, Lucía!
- LucíaSí, Daniel, es insoportable.Yes, Daniel, it is unbearable.
- DanielBusquemos una sombra, por favor.Let's look for some shade, please.
- LucíaBuena idea, tengo mucha sed.Good idea, I am very thirsty.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries calor, qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
