Hot
Use for the temperature of objects, food, or drinks. Means 'It is hot'.
Use to say you feel hot. Means 'I am hot' (literally 'I have heat').
Use for spicy food. 'Pica' means 'It's spicy' and 'Es picante' means 'It is spicy'.
It's very hot at the beach today.
The coffee is very hot, be careful.
Are you hot? I can turn on the fan.
This salsa is not hot (in temperature), it's spicy.
The distinction is crucial everywhere: 'Hace calor' (weather), 'Está caliente' (object temperature), 'Tengo calor' (feeling hot), and 'Pica/Es picante' (spicy).
For spicy food, 'picoso' is a very common alternative to 'picante'. For example, 'La salsa está muy picosa.'
Be very careful. Describing a person as '(es) caliente' is slang for 'horny' or 'sexually aroused'. Always use 'tiene calor' to say a person feels hot.
The usage is the same as in Latin America, but you will hear 'vosotros tenéis calor' for the plural 'you'.
Soy calor / Estoy calor — Tengo calor — To express the feeling of being hot, Spanish uses the verb 'tener' (to have), not 'ser' or 'estar'. The correct phrase is 'Tengo calor', which literally means 'I have heat'.
El clima es caliente — Hace calor — For describing hot weather, the standard expression is 'Hace calor' (literally 'It makes heat'). Using 'ser' or 'estar' for weather is unnatural for this context.
La sopa es caliente — La sopa está caliente — Use the verb 'estar' for temporary states like the temperature of food or a drink. 'Está caliente' means it's hot right now. 'Es caliente' would incorrectly imply it's an inherent, permanent quality.
La salsa es caliente — La salsa pica / es picante — 'Caliente' refers only to temperature. For spiciness ('hot' in English), you must use 'picante' or the verb 'picar'. A dish can be 'caliente' (temperature) and 'picante' (spicy) at the same time.
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