muy caliente
/mui kaljente/from spelling rules
The English phrase "very hot" is translated into Spanish as muy caliente.
muy caliente is used to describe an object or substance that has a high temperature.
Which one should you use?
Use muy caliente for the temperature of objects or substances, but do not use it to describe a person feeling hot.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some Latin American countries, such as Mexico and Venezuela, people may use calorón to convey the idea of intense heat.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective caliente must agree in gender with the noun it describes: muy caliente for masculine and muy caliente for feminine (the spelling of the adjective itself does not change, but the noun it modifies does).
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly say estoy muy caliente to mean "I am very hot (temperature)", but this actually implies sexual arousal in many Spanish-speaking contexts.
Did you know?
- Spanish has a specialized word, bochorno, to describe a 'very hot' day that is specifically humid and stifling. This distinguishes a dry heat from a sticky, oppressive heat.
- To correctly say you feel hot due to the weather, you should say tengo mucho calor instead of using the adjective caliente.
- The word muy is a direct descendant of the Latin word multum, which means 'much'. This is the same root that gave English the word 'multitude'.
Examples in context
- La sopa está muy caliente.The soup's very hot.This sentence is useful for describing the temperature of soup using muy caliente.Tatoeba #449907 by Shishir, translation #2268541 by _undertoad
- Este té está muy caliente.This tea is very hot.This sentence is useful for describing the temperature of tea using muy caliente.Tatoeba #1469448 by Shishir, translation #61267 by CK
- El café está muy caliente.The coffee is very hot.This sentence is useful for describing the temperature of coffee using muy caliente.Tatoeba #3034981 by Shishir, translation #2977230 by CM
- El agua está muy caliente.The water is very hot.
- El desierto es sumamente caluroso durante el verano.The desert is extremely hot during the summer.
- La temperatura se ha vuelto sumamente calurosa en los últimos días.The temperature has become extremely hot in recent days.
- ¡El sol está que quema!The sun is scorching!
- ¡Hace un calor infernal hoy!It's infernally hot today!
- Este verano es abrasador. No puedo soportar el calor.This summer is scorching. I can't stand the heat.
- La cocina se pone abrasadora cuando cocino por mucho tiempo.The kitchen gets blazing hot when I cook for a long time.
- ¡Hace un calorón impresionante!It's scorching hot!
- 14 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daniel and Sofía are in the kitchen after cooking.
- DanielTen cuidado, el plato está muy caliente.Be careful, the plate is very hot.
- SofíaGracias, Daniel. No lo tocaré todavía.Thanks, Daniel. I won't touch it yet.
- DanielLa comida de Sofía siempre huele muy bien.Sofía's food always smells very good.
- SofíaEspero que no esté muy caliente para comer.I hope it is not too hot to eat.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries caliente, muy, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
