Episode 20 · Living in Italy
Ho caldo, not sono caldo - how to say I'm hot in Italian
In Italian you don't ARE hot, you HAVE hot: ho caldo. Daniel says sono caldo in a hot kitchen, and Laura thinks he means the pizza.
A hot kitchen, a pizza in the oven, and a very literal translation from English.
Laura ·
In this lesson
| Italian | Word for word | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Ho caldo | I have heat | I'm hot (I feel hot) |
| Ho freddo | I have cold | I'm cold |
| Fa caldo | it makes heat | it's hot (the weather) |
| Sono caldo | I am hot | don't say it: it means something else |
| Apri la finestra! | open the window! |
Italian uses avere for how your body feels: ho caldo, ho freddo, ho fame, ho sete, ho sonno. Caldo with essere is for things, like the pizza: la pizza è calda.
SOURCES - https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/caldo/ - https://accademiadellacrusca.it/it/consulenza/fa-caldo/323 - https://italian.joyoflanguages.com/podcast/hot-in-italian - https://elon.io/grammar/italian/errors/ho-vs-sono-sensations
The dialogue
Every line from the video, with the English meaning under the Italian.
Daniel
Phew! This kitchen is an oven!
Laura
Daniel, tutto bene?
Daniel, everything okay?
Daniel✗ Mistake
Sì, ma... sono caldo!
Yes, but... I am hot!
Laura
Sei caldo? Come la pizza?
You are hot? Like the pizza?
Daniel
Wait... what did I just say?
Laura
Usa il verbo avere! Io...?
Use the verb avere, to have! I...?
Daniel✓ Correct
Ho caldo!
I'm hot! (literally: I have heat)
Laura
Bravo! Ho caldo, ho freddo: con avere!
Well done! I'm hot, I'm cold: with avere!
Daniel
So what does sono caldo mean?
Laura
È un'altra cosa... Apri la finestra!
That's something else... Open the window!
The voices in this video are synthetic and the on-screen host is generated. The Italian itself is written and checked by a native speaker.
Ready to speak, not just watch?
Practise these phrases out loud with Laura in a small group or a private lesson.
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