Temperatura

For weather, comfort, reactions, and everyday situations.

Weather & Physical Sensations

These are essential for talking about how hot or cold it feels around you.

EnglishSpanishExample
It’s hot.Hace calor.Hace mucho calor hoy. (It’s really hot today.)
It’s cold.Hace frío.Hace un poco de frío esta mañana. (It’s a bit cold this morning.)
It’s warm.Está templado.El clima está templado hoy. (The weather is mild today.)
I feel hot.Tengo calor.Voy a abrir la ventana, tengo calor. (I’m going to open the window, I’m hot.)
I feel cold.Tengo frío.Tengo frío, voy a ponerme un suéter. (I’m cold, I’m going to put on a sweater.)

💡 Key rule:

  • Use “hace” for weather (Hace calor/frío).
  • Use “tengo” for how you feel (Tengo calor/frío).

More Weather Descriptions, Seasons, Etc

Drinks, Food, and Surfaces

Useful for ordering food, talking about drinks, or touching objects.

EnglishSpanishExample
It’s hot. (for drinks, food, objects)Está caliente.Cuidado, el café está caliente. (Careful, the coffee is hot.)
It’s warm. (pleasantly warm)Está tibio/a.Me gusta el agua tibia para lavarme la cara. (I like warm water to wash my face.)
It’s lukewarm. (kind of warm, but not enough)Está templado/a.El té está templado, ya no está caliente. (The tea is lukewarm, it’s not hot anymore.)
It’s cold.Está frío/a.Mi sopa está fría, la voy a calentar. (My soup is cold, I’m going to heat it up.)

💡 When to use what?

  • Caliente = hot (like coffee, tea, or soup).
  • Tibio = comfortably warm (like a warm bath).
  • Templado = lukewarm (water that’s not quite hot or cold).

People’s Personality & Reactions

Spanish often describes emotions using temperature words. These are the ones worth knowing.

EnglishSpanishExample
He/she is warm/kind.Es una persona cálida.Me cayó bien, es muy cálida. (I liked her, she’s very warm.)
He/she is cold/distant.Es una persona fría.No habla mucho, es un poco fría. (She doesn’t talk much, she’s a bit cold.)
His/her reaction was lukewarm.Su reacción fue tibia.Le dije la noticia y su reacción fue tibia. (I told him the news, and his reaction was lukewarm.)

💡 These will come up in conversations when describing someone’s personality or reaction.

Situations, Conversations & Politics

Sometimes, temperature words describe tension, excitement, or controversy.

EnglishSpanishExample
It’s a heated discussion.Es una discusión caldeada.Se metieron en una discusión caldeada sobre política. (They got into a heated discussion about politics.)
It’s a hot topic.Es un tema candente.La inmigración es un tema candente en México. (Immigration is a hot topic in Mexico.)
The atmosphere is tense.El ambiente está caldeado.En la oficina, el ambiente está caldeado hoy. (At the office, the atmosphere is tense today.)

💡 These are good for understanding conversations, even if you don’t use them often yourself.

  1. It’s really hot outside today.
  2. It’s a little cold this morning.
  3. The weather’s mild — not too hot or cold.
  4. I feel hot. I think I need to sit in the shade.
  5. I’m freezing. Can we close the window?
  6. It’s not as hot as yesterday, but it’s still warm.
  7. I’m sweating — it’s way too hot in here.
  8. I always feel cold in the mornings.
  9. It’s the perfect temperature for a walk.
  10. It was hot during the day, but the evening felt cool.
  1. Be careful — the soup is really hot.
  2. This tea is warm, just how I like it.
  3. The coffee’s lukewarm now.
  4. My sandwich is cold. I’m going to heat it up.
  5. The bathwater is nice and warm.
  6. The plate is hot — don’t touch it.
  7. The milk is too warm for my taste.
  8. The water’s not hot anymore, it’s just lukewarm.
  9. This pizza is still hot from the oven.
  10. The mug is warm in my hands — perfect.
  1. She’s so warm and friendly.
  2. He’s polite, but a little cold.
  3. Her reaction to the gift was kind of lukewarm.
  4. I really like him — he’s got a warm personality.
  5. She always seems distant and cold.
  6. When I told him the news, he barely reacted.
  7. He’s not unfriendly, just quiet and reserved.
  8. Her response was so warm it made me smile.
  9. I expected more enthusiasm, but his reaction was flat.
  10. She comes off cold at first, but she’s actually nice.
  1. The meeting turned into a heated discussion.
  2. That’s a hot topic in the news right now.
  3. The atmosphere in the room was tense.
  4. They had a fiery argument about money.
  5. It’s a sensitive subject — people get emotional.
  6. Things got intense fast during the debate.
  7. There’s a lot of tension in the office today.
  8. Climate change is always a hot topic online.
  9. The conversation got a bit too heated for my taste.
  10. You could feel the pressure in the room — nobody was relaxed.