"Calor vs. Caliente"
I have some discussion with another person that I am communicating with in learning espanol. We are trying to indicate what each of the calor and caliente is used in what sentences or statements.
I speak to my spanish friends and we utilize the word caliente quite often when talking about hot in general or about the weather. I looked it up and found that both are workable in talking about the weather or hot in general. I and I just wanted to know what the difference it was for each word and how they both are used? That way I am using the correct word for the statement I am getting across like hot weather, or I am hot and so on...
7 Answers
Caliente is an adjective, then must be accompanied to a noun (before or after):
sopa caliente, agua caliente, "something" caliente.
Calor is a noun: Calor corporal (temperature), calor solar, calor humano, can be accompanied to a verb: Hace calor, tengo calor, el calor es extenuante.
As far as I know, caliente should be used more for like the temperature of food or something, and calor is more like body temperature or the weather. They are interchangeable sometimes but a teacher once told me that caliente leans more towards what we would call spicy...and if you said "estoy caliente" it might be understood like you're horny or something....haha
I and I just wanted to know what the difference it was for each word and how they both are used?
Vernic's answer provides the fundamental distinction. "calor" (like "heat") is a noun while "caliente" ("hot") is an adjective. Thus, they are used in entirely different (grammatical) constructions.
English uses "I/it is hot" while Spanish uses "tengo/hace calor". As translations, these are fine but do not mean that "calor" means "hot". They simply mean that where English speakers would say one (idiomatic) thing, Spanish speakers would say another (idiomatic thing). On a philosophic level you neither are nor "have" "hot" nor "heat". You experience a degree of discomfort because your body is having some difficulty maintaining its usual (36 degree) temperature.
Simply because "calor" is/can be translated into English as "hot", does not mean that the terms are equivalent.
"Spicy" is not "caliente."
As pointed out, "caliente" refers to temperature. "Spicy" is "picoso(a) / picante, especiado(a), sazonado(a)."
This is my gringo take on it. Calor is short for calorie, which is a unit of heat. Stick a thermometer in your soup after you have put it in the microwave, and then say that it is "calor" because the mercury has risen in the thermometer. If you put mass quantities of pepper sauce or spicy salsa to a, for the sake of argument, a room-temperature taco, then it is "caliente". If this is not considered correct in Spanish, I'm not surprised. The local Spanish is getting so bad here in Texas that it's turning into Portuguese.
Generally you use calor when referring to the weather or how you feel, e.g.
Tengo mucho calor. - I am very hot.
Hace mucho calor hoy. - It is very hot today (the weather).
Caliente is used more for things that can become hot and burn you, e.g.
Ten cuidado, el horno está caliente.
well, I know, caliente should be used more for like the temperature of food or something, and calor is more like body temperature or the weather.
