tener calor
/teneɾ kaloɾ/from spelling rules
To be hot in Spanish is tener calor.
The phrase tener calor is used to describe a person's physical sensation of heat. In informal situations, you can use estar ardiendo to describe intense heat. Note that if you want to talk about someone's physical attractiveness, you might use estar bueno/a or ser atractivo/a.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, tener calor translates to 'to have heat'.
Which one should you use?
Use hace calor to describe the weather or the ambient temperature, whereas tener calor is used to describe a person's physical sensation of heat.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the verb tener (to have). When expressing that you personally feel hot, you use the first-person singular form tengo calor. To say 'we are hot', the phrase becomes tenemos calor.
How do you pronounce it?
/teneɾ kaloɾ/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly say estar caliente to mean they feel hot, but this actually implies being sexually aroused or refers to an object's temperature.
Did you know?
- The Spanish word calor shares a common root with the English word 'calorie'.
- If you use estar caliente to describe a person's skin, it suggests they have a fever or are physically hot to the touch, not that they feel hot.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, saying tengo calor might prompt someone to offer you a drink, as the phrase focuses on your possession of the sensation rather than your state of being.
Examples in context
- ¡Hace un calor ardiendo hoy!It's scorching hot today!
- Ese chico está muy buenoThat guy is very good-looking
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries calor, tener, CC BY-SA 4.0.
