Let’s talk about the weather, which has no special word in Spanish (tiempo also stands for time). People talk about the weather everywhere – in the elevator, in the park, at work – so we need to do it correctly.
The Spanish calor begins only after + 25°C, and once reaching + 35°C, it is mucho calor. Everything below + 15°C is called frío, and below + 5°C – mucho frío.
So how do you say “It’s warm today, twelve degrees!”, which can often be the case in the USA or Britain? The best way for the Spanish is to say...
It’s warm today, twelve degrees = Hoy no hace frío, hace 12 grados / Hoy hace fresco
The body temperature naturally does not follow these rules: if you’re cold, you’re cold and that’s it. In Spanish, the notion “I’m cold/hot” is expressed with the verb tener:
Tengo frío = I’m cold Tengo calor = I’m hot
Again, “I’m warm/OK” you have to say in a different way:
No tengo frío / Estoy bien = I’m warm / I’m OK
If you’re a cold-sensitive person, you can say soy friolero(a), and vice versa – soy caluroso(a).
Speaking of the temperature of objects, there are the following levels of temperature:
hot – caliente warm –
(with climate and food) templado
room temperature – del tiempo
lukewarm – tibio
cold – frío
freezing – helado
The word tibio is hardly used. In fact, it refers to the lack of warmth, and is used only with objects, as in:
¡Este café está tibio! = The coffee is not enough hot!
Anyway, never use it referring to weather.
The word caliente referring to people usually means “cross, angry”:
Vengo caliente del trabajo = I came from work very angry
In a certain context it can mean 'sexually active’, ‘hot-blooded’:
Los latinos son muy calientes – Latinos are very hot/passionate
In addition, we can say that “warm clothes” can be translated as ropa calentita, but more often it is translated as abrigado or que abriga:
Este jersey abriga mucho = This sweater is very warm
Abrígate bien, que hace frío = Warm up, because it's cold
Ponte algo abrigadito, que hace frío = Put on something warm, because it's cold
Speaking of the climate, the word templado can mean “moderate/mild”. “Hot” climate should be translated as clima cálido. The word cálido should be used when referring to weather, but it can be used metaphorically:
un encuentro cálido = a warm encounter
un ambiente cálido = a warm atmosphere
The more colloquial synonym of this word – caluroso means that something makes you hot: un verano caluroso, un pueblo caluroso, un tiempo caluroso...
Finally, the word fresco is the most curious. Used with weather it means "that makes you a little bit cold". However, with food, means "recently made", and with people, "be shameless".
Summarizing:
cálido
caliente
caluroso
templado
tibio
fresco
weather, summer
hot (formal)
–
hot (informal)
moderate
–
little bit cold
food
–
hot
–
warm
lukewarm, not enough hot
recently made
climate
hot
–
–
moderate / mild
–
little bit cold
people
warm, emotional
cross, angry
who feel hot
–
–
shameless
Autor/a Георгий Нуждин, Анна Школьник
1. ¿Correcto o incorrecto?
habitación templada
chico caliente
chica calurosa
café templado
día caluroso
tiempo tibio
clima templado
café cálido
persona fresca
clima caliente
leche fresca
Correcto
Incorrecto
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2. Selecciona la palabra adecuada:
Mi hermana es muy , pasa frío incluso en verano. Mi madre, en cambio, es muy .
¿Cómo quiere el café? ¿Con leche fría, caliente o ?
Hoy hace , el termómetro marca 18 grados y hace mucho viento.
Se espera un verano en Andalucía y en Cantabria.
¡Siempre me traes la sopa , aunque sabes muy bien que me gusta .
El alcalde dio una bienvenida a los invitados.
Este chico es un , siempre pretende conseguir algo a costa de los demás.
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