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"hot, warm" in seven languages

Meaninghot, warm

Spanish

caliente

/kaˈljente/

other source · Latin CALENTEM 'being warm', present participle of CALĒRE

Spanish caldo is 'broth' — an old false friend for Italians.

French

chaud

/ʃo/

inherited

Italian

caldo

/ˈkaldo/

inherited

Portuguese

quente

/ˈkẽtʃi/

other source · Latin CALENTEM 'being warm', as Spanish caliente

Romanian

cald

/kald/

inherited

Cald is 'warm, hot'; burning hot is fierbinte.

Catalan

calent

/kəˈlen/

other source · Latin CALENTEM 'being warm'

English

hot

/hɑt/

native English · Old English hāt

English → Italianhot, warmcaldoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: calorie, scald, cauldron.What English and Italian share

Watch out: false friends

  • caldo (Spanish) means “broth” · caldo (Italian) means “hot; heat”

    Both from Latin CALIDUM 'hot'. Spanish caldo is 'the hot (liquid)'; Spanish 'hot' is caliente, from CALENTEM.

All false friends

The Latin ancestor

CALIDUM (spoken CALDUM)‘warm, hot’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

French chaud shows two laws at once: CA- → cha-, and l before a consonant → u. Careful on Italian taps: C is caldo 'hot', not cold.

English relatives: calorie, scald, cauldron

Sound laws at work

French CA becomes chaL before a consonant becomes u

Learn it

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In a sentence

  • esEl café está muy caliente.
  • frLe café est très chaud.
  • itIl caffè è molto caldo.
  • ptO café está muito quente.
  • roCafeaua e foarte fierbinte.
  • caEl cafè és molt calent.
  • enThe coffee is very hot.

More in Describing words

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