How to say "hot" in Japanese

• 辛いからいJLPT N5approx.Common
  i-adjectiveCovers 'hot' in the sense of spicy: chili, pepper, mustard. If you say food is 辛い you mean it burns your tongue with spice, not with temperature.
  私は辛からい食物しょくもつはあまり好すきではない。↗

  I don't care too much for hot food.
• 暑いあついJLPT N5approx.Common
  i-adjectiveThe adjective for hot weather and hot seasons: hot days, rooms, climates. For things you can touch, 熱い is the word instead.
  この夏なつ最高さいこうの暑あつさだ。↗

  It is the hottest this summer.
• 熱いあついJLPT N5approx.Common
  i-adjectiveDescribes objects that are hot to the touch: drinks, baths, pans. Use this for anything physical you could burn yourself on; weather takes 暑い.
  スープは熱あついうちに召し上めしあがって下ください。↗

  Eat your soup while it is hot.
• ホットCommon
  na-adjective, nounThe English loanword in katakana. It turns up mainly in borrowed expressions; to say that something is hot in a normal sentence, 暑い or 熱い is the word you want.
  あやはホットピンクや電子でんしブルーや深ふか紫むらさきといった激はげしい色いろが好すきだ。↗

  Aya likes intense colors, such as hot pink, electric blue and deep purple.
• 旬しゅんCommon
  no-adjective, na-adjectiveA noun, not an adjective: it means the peak season of a food, and figuratively the height of popularity. It matches 'hot' only in that trendy sense — never for temperature or spice.

Use 「辛い」 for spicy food, 「暑い」 for hot weather, 「熱い」 for objects hot to the touch, 「ホット」 for borrowed expressions, and 旬 only for the figurative 'hot' meaning currently popular.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 辛いからいspicy
• 暑いあついhot
• 熱いあついhot (to the touch)
• ホットhot
• ほやほやhot (e.g. from the oven)
• あちさんhot (thing, temper, gaze, topic)
• あちいhot (to the touch)
• 熾烈しれつfierce (fight, competition, etc.)
• 熱臭いねつくさいwarm (esp. from the fever of a sick person)
• シコいsexy
• ぴりっとくるpungent
• 暖かいあたたかいwarm
• ぬくいwarm
• ぬくといwarm
• 濃厚のうこうpassionate
• 旬しゅんin vogue
• 話題わだいmuch talked about
• おいしそうhot