What you'll learn
- Choose the right word for hot and cold in 14 situations: weather, drinks, food, a bath, a room.
- Conjugate 덥다, 춥다, 뜨겁다 and 차갑다 in the polite present, past and modifier.
- Tell "I am hot" (저는 더워요) from "the water is hot" (물이 뜨거워요).
- Order a hot or iced drink at a cafe.
Prerequisites: verbs vs adjectives. Time: about 25 minutes.
Key facts
- Hot: 덥다 (weather, room, body), 뜨겁다 (things you touch), 맵다 (spicy).
- Cold: 춥다 (weather, body), 차갑다 (things you touch).
- 덥다, 춥다, 뜨겁다, 차갑다 and 맵다 are ㅂ-irregular.
- 따뜻하다 and 시원하다 are regular 하다 adjectives.
The first section answers the question people ask most.
How Do You Say Hot in Korean?
Hot in Korean is 덥다 for weather and for how a person feels, 뜨겁다 for something hot to the touch, and 맵다 for spicy food. The choice depends on what is hot, not on how hot it is. Ask yourself one question: is it the air, a thing, or the taste?
| What is hot? | Word | Polite present | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| The air, the weather, a room, you | 덥다 | 더워요 | 오늘 날씨가 더워요. |
| A drink, food, bath water, a pan | 뜨겁다 | 뜨거워요 | 국이 뜨거워요. |
| Spicy food | 맵다 | 매워요 | 김치찌개가 매워요. |
If you use 뜨겁다 for the weather, the sentence sounds as if the air itself burns, as in 뜨거운 햇빛 ("burning sunlight"). 덥다 cannot describe the soup itself: 국이 더워요 is wrong, and 국이 뜨거워요 is right. The next section walks through eight situations.
Hot: Which Word Fits Weather, Touch and Spice?
Weather, rooms and your body take 덥다. Anything you can touch, drink or eat takes 뜨겁다. Spice takes 맵다. The table gives eight situations, each with an example you can say.
| Situation | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Hot weather | 덥다 | 오늘 날씨가 더워요. (Today the weather is hot.) |
| Hot room | 덥다 | 방이 너무 더워요. (The room is too hot.) |
| Hot tea or coffee | 뜨겁다 | 커피가 뜨거워요. (The coffee is hot.) |
| Hot soup | 뜨겁다 | 국이 뜨거워요. (The soup is hot.) |
| Hot bath water | 뜨겁다 | 목욕물이 너무 뜨거워요. (The bath water is too hot.) |
| Hot pan or stone | 뜨겁다 | 프라이팬이 뜨거워요. (The frying pan is hot.) |
| Spicy food | 맵다 | 김치찌개가 매워요. (The kimchi stew is spicy.) |
| A person feeling hot | 덥다 | 저는 더워요. (I am hot.) |
One more word matters in a cafe: 뜨거운 커피 is "hot coffee" with the modifier 뜨거운, and 아이스 커피 is iced coffee. People say 따뜻한 커피 for coffee that is warm and not scalding. The next section covers cold.
Cold: Which Word Fits Weather and Touch?
Weather, rooms and your body take 춥다. Anything you touch or drink takes 차갑다. This is the same split as for hot, and English speakers often miss it because English uses "cold" for both. Six situations follow.
| Situation | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Cold weather | 춥다 | 겨울에는 날씨가 추워요. (In winter the weather is cold.) |
| Cold room | 춥다 | 방이 추워요. (The room is cold.) |
| Cold water or drink | 차갑다 | 물이 차가워요. (The water is cold.) |
| Cold hands | 차갑다 | 손이 차가워요. (My hands are cold.) |
| Cold wind | 차갑다 | 바람이 차가워요. (The wind is cold on the skin.) |
| A person feeling cold | 춥다 | 저는 추워요. (I am cold.) |
The wind case shows the edge of the rule. Wind is felt on the skin, so it takes 차갑다: 차가운 바람 or the short form 찬 바람. The weather as a whole stays 춥다 (추운 날씨), and when a person is the one feeling the cold, use 춥다. For cold in general, including the noun, see cold in Korean. Between hot and cold are three more words.
What Do 따뜻하다, 시원하다 and 미지근하다 Mean?
따뜻하다 means pleasantly warm, 시원하다 means pleasantly cool or refreshing, and 미지근하다 means lukewarm. These are mild words, and 따뜻하다 and 시원하다 carry a positive feeling. All are regular 하다 adjectives, so their polite present ends in 해요.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 따뜻하다 | warm, mild and pleasant | 날씨가 따뜻해요. (The weather is warm.) |
| 시원하다 | cool, refreshing | 바람이 시원해요. (The breeze is cool.) |
| 미지근하다 | lukewarm | 물이 미지근해요. (The water is lukewarm.) |
| 쌀쌀하다 | chilly | 아침에는 쌀쌀해요. (It is chilly in the morning.) |
시원하다 has a second use that surprises learners: it describes a hot soup or drink that feels satisfying, as in 국물이 시원해요. The word means "refreshing relief", not "cold". For weather, 쌀쌀하다 means chilly and sits between 따뜻하다 and 춥다. To order water at a table, 시원한 물 is cold water that feels good. Next, the endings.
How Are the Temperature Words Conjugated?
Four of the six main words are ㅂ-irregular, which means the ㅂ of the stem turns into 우 before a vowel ending. 덥다 becomes 더워요 and 춥다 becomes 추워요. The two 하다 adjectives, 따뜻하다 and 시원하다, are regular. The table shows all of them, plus 맵다.
| Word | Polite present | Polite past | Modifier | "because" -아/어서 | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 덥다 | 더워요 | 더웠어요 | 더운 | 더워서 | ㅂ irregular |
| 뜨겁다 | 뜨거워요 | 뜨거웠어요 | 뜨거운 | 뜨거워서 | ㅂ irregular |
| 춥다 | 추워요 | 추웠어요 | 추운 | 추워서 | ㅂ irregular |
| 차갑다 | 차가워요 | 차가웠어요 | 차가운 | 차가워서 | ㅂ irregular |
| 따뜻하다 | 따뜻해요 | 따뜻했어요 | 따뜻한 | 따뜻해서 | 하다 type (regular) |
| 시원하다 | 시원해요 | 시원했어요 | 시원한 | 시원해서 | 하다 type (regular) |
| 미지근하다 | 미지근해요 | 미지근했어요 | 미지근한 | 미지근해서 | 하다 type (regular) |
| 맵다 | 매워요 | 매웠어요 | 매운 | 매워서 | ㅂ irregular |
Two details help with accuracy. First, the stem ㅂ stays before a consonant: 덥고 ("hot and"), 춥지 않아요 ("it is not cold"). Second, the modifier ends in 운 (더운 날, 추운 날), and so do 뜨거운 and 차가운. A cold drink is therefore 차가운 음료 and a hot drink is 뜨거운 음료. The ㅂ rule and its other words are in ㅂ irregular.
A learner who is sure of 더워요 and 추워요 can now turn to the question of whose feeling the sentence reports.
Whose Feeling Is It: You, the Weather or the Object?
The subject decides the word. A person who feels hot or cold uses 덥다 or 춥다. A thing that is hot or cold to the touch uses 뜨겁다 or 차갑다. The weather uses 덥다 or 춥다 with 날씨가 (the weather) as the subject. Compare three sentences.
| Sentence | Subject | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| 저는 더워요. | I | I feel hot. |
| 날씨가 더워요. | the weather | The weather is hot. |
| 물이 뜨거워요. | the water | The water is hot to the touch. |
저는 뜨거워요 is a mistake for "I feel hot", because it says that you yourself are hot like a pan. To report another person's feeling, use the verb form with -아/어하다: 동생이 추워해요 ("My younger sibling feels cold"). The reason is in Korean feeling verbs.
Useful sentences for a room or a bath follow the same logic.
- 에어컨 좀 켜 주세요. "Please turn on the air conditioner."
- 물이 너무 뜨거워요. "The water is too hot."
- 방이 추워요. "The room is cold."
The next section adds the past, negative and formal forms.
How Do You Say past, Negative and Formal Hot and Cold?
Past, negative and formal forms follow the same ㅂ rule, and each one starts from the polite present stem you already know. The forms below were cross-checked with the site's conjugation engine.
| Meaning | Pattern | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| past | 더웠어요 / 추웠어요 | 어제는 추웠어요. | It was cold yesterday. |
| negative with 안 | 안 더워요 | 오늘은 안 더워요. | It is not hot today. |
| negative with -지 않다 | 뜨겁지 않아요 | 국이 뜨겁지 않아요. | The soup is not hot. |
| formal present | 덥습니다 / 춥습니다 | 오늘은 덥습니다. | It is hot today (formal). |
| future guess | 더울 거예요 | 내일은 더울 거예요. | It will probably be hot tomorrow. |
Pronunciation changes in the dictionary and formal forms. A consonant after the final ㅂ is tensed: 덥다 is said [덥따], 춥다 [춥따], 뜨겁다 [뜨겁따] and 차갑다 [차갑따]. The formal 덥습니다 is said [덥씀니다]. This follows the standard pronunciation rules of the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원). Next, the nouns that come from these adjectives.
What Are the Noun Forms and Set Phrases for Heat and Cold?
Korean makes nouns from some of these adjectives: 더위 means "heat" and 추위 means "the cold". They appear in set phrases that learners hear at once. Each phrase below uses the noun with a particle and a verb.
| Phrase | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 더위를 타요 | I am sensitive to heat | 타다 here means "to be affected by" |
| 추위를 타요 | I am sensitive to cold | the same pattern |
| 찬물 | cold water | one word, often used for washing |
| 더운물 / 뜨거운 물 | hot water | 뜨거운 물 is the usual spoken phrase |
| 아이스 커피 | iced coffee | borrowed from English "ice" |
A person who says 추위를 많이 타요 ("I feel the cold a lot") is describing a trait, not the present weather. The weather adjectives describe a moment, and these phrases describe a habit. The phrases are common, but the dictionary forms of the nouns are less useful at first, so learn the full phrase.
Cafe Dialogue: Hot or Iced?
This six-line dialogue puts the hot and cold words to work: a customer orders coffee and chooses iced because the weather is hot.
| Speaker | Korean | English |
|---|---|---|
| 직원 | 어서 오세요. 뭘 드릴까요? | Welcome. What can I get you? |
| 손님 | 커피 한 잔 주세요. | One coffee, please. |
| 직원 | 뜨거운 커피요, 아이스 커피요? | Hot coffee or iced coffee? |
| 손님 | 오늘은 더워요. 아이스 커피로 주세요. | It is hot today. Iced coffee, please. |
| 직원 | 네, 알겠습니다. | Yes, understood. |
| 손님 | 그리고 따뜻한 물도 한 잔 주세요. | And a cup of warm water too, please. |
The staff say 뜨거운 커피요, 아이스 커피요? with the modifier 뜨거운. The customer gives the reason with 오늘은 더워요, using 덥다 for weather. Related weather vocabulary is in Korean weather vocabulary, and spicy-hot words are in Korean taste adjectives.
Practice: Can You Choose the Word?
Fill in each blank with the correct adjective in the polite present, then check the answer column. Cover the answers first.
| # | Prompt | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The soup is ___ (hot to touch). | 국이 뜨거워요. |
| 2 | Today the weather is ___ (hot). | 오늘 날씨가 더워요. |
| 3 | The water is ___ (cold to touch). | 물이 차가워요. |
| 4 | In winter I am ___ (cold). | 겨울에는 추워요. |
| 5 | The kimchi stew is ___ (spicy). | 김치찌개가 매워요. |
| 6 | The breeze is ___ (cool, refreshing). | 바람이 시원해요. |
Practice · 8
Which word says that the soup is hot to the touch?
Show answer
국이 뜨거워요.
Things you touch, drink or eat take 뜨겁다; 덥다 is for weather, rooms and your body, and 맵다 means spicy.
How do you say "I am hot" (I feel hot)?
Show answer
저는 더워요.
A person who feels hot uses 덥다. 저는 뜨거워요 says you yourself are hot like a pan.
Which phrase means cold water?
Show answer
차가운 물
Water is a thing you touch or drink, so it takes 차갑다 (차가운 물). 춥다 is for weather and how a person feels.
What is the modifier form of 덥다, as in ___ 날 (a hot day)?
Show answer
더운
덥다 is ㅂ-irregular: the ㅂ turns into 우, so the modifier is 더운 (더운 날).
Which sentence says that you yourself feel cold?
Show answer
저는 추워요.
춥다 describes how a person feels in cold weather. 저는 차가워요 would mean you are cold to the touch or cold in manner.
The page says 국물이 시원해요 about a hot soup. What does 시원하다 express there?
Show answer
The soup feels refreshing and satisfying
시원하다 means refreshing relief, not cold, so it can describe a hot soup that feels satisfying.
How is the dictionary form 덥다 pronounced?
Show answer
[덥따]
A consonant after the final ㅂ is tensed, so 덥다 is said [덥따].
To report another person's feeling, which form does the page use for "My younger sibling feels cold"?
Show answer
동생이 추워해요.
Another person's feeling takes the verb form -아/어하다: 동생이 추워해요.
Four mistakes cause most errors with these words.
- 추운 물 for cold water. Use 차가운 물, because water is a thing you touch.
- 저는 뜨거워요 for "I am hot". Use 저는 더워요, because 뜨겁다 describes an object.
- 덥은 날 for "hot day". The ㅂ turns into 우: write 더운 날.
- 맵다 for temperature. 맵다 means spicy; hot food that burns the mouth because of temperature is 뜨겁다.
What this page does not cover. It leaves out 후끈하다 (sultry), 선선하다 (pleasantly cool), words for fever and the vocabulary of seasons, which sit in the weather vocabulary pages. Degree words such as 너무 and 아주 are explained in the adverbs pages.
What Should You Learn after Hot and Cold in Korean?
After hot and cold in Korean, learn Korean taste adjectives for 맵다 and the other taste words, and read the ㅂ-irregular lesson for the full rule. For feelings in general, continue with Korean emotion adjectives.
About this page. Last updated 2026-10-09. The Korean text on this page was machine-generated and reviewed and signed off by Min-ji Park on 15 October 2026. Forms were cross-checked with the site's rule-based conjugation engine. Romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean and is shown only as a learning aid.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between 덥다 and 뜨겁다? 덥다 describes hot weather, a hot room or how hot you feel. 뜨겁다 describes something hot that you touch, drink or eat, such as tea, soup, a pan or bath water. English uses "hot" for both. Korean does not: 날씨가 더워요 means the weather is hot, and 국이 뜨거워요 means the soup is hot.
How do I say cold water in Korean? Say 차가운 물 or 찬물. Cold water is a thing you touch or drink, so it takes 차갑다, whose modifier is 차가운, or the shorter 찬. Do not use 추운 물, because 춥다 describes weather and how a person feels. As a sentence, 물이 차가워요 means "The water is cold."
How do I say "I am cold" in Korean? Say 저는 추워요, or just 추워요. The adjective 춥다 describes how a person feels in cold weather, so it is the right word for your own feeling. 저는 차가워요 would mean you are cold to the touch, or cold in manner. For another person, use the verb form 추워해요: 동생이 추워해요 means "My younger sibling feels cold."
Does 시원하다 mean cold? Not exactly. 시원하다 means pleasantly cool or refreshing, as in 시원한 바람 ("a cool breeze") and 시원한 물 ("refreshing cold water"). It is a positive word. Use 차갑다 for a neutral "cold to the touch", and 춥다 for weather that makes you uncomfortable. Hot soup can also be 시원하다, meaning it feels satisfying.
Can 따뜻하다 and 뜨겁다 both describe tea? Yes, with a different degree. 따뜻한 차 is pleasantly warm tea that you can drink at once. 뜨거운 차 is hot tea that may burn you, so you wait before drinking. Weather works the same way: 날씨가 따뜻해요 is mild and pleasant, while 날씨가 더워요 is hot and tiring.