Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "caliente" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce caliente in Spanish?

caliente is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /kaˈljen.te/. It means “hot (things and food only, never people).” kah-LYEN-teh, three beats — the ie glides into one sound, so it is not four.

kah-LYEN-teh, three beats — the ie glides into one sound, so it is not four.

caliente /kaˈljen.te/

Three syllables, ca-LIEN-te, with the weight on the second-to-last because the ie counts as one diphthong and the word ends in a vowel. One form for both genders. The verb it comes from, "calentar", loses the i and moves the stress to the end — ca-len-TAR — which shows the diphthong appearing only under stress.

Listen: caliente

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Sound it out

ca A hard k with no puff of air and a wide-open "ah". Unstressed but fully open.

lien A bright forward l, then the i glides into the e as a y sound, closed by a released n. One beat, "lyen", and it carries the stress.

te A dental t with no aspiration and a short "eh", fully pronounced.

Hear it in a sentence

La sopa está caliente.

The soup is hot.

Listen: La sopa está caliente.

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"La sopa está caliente" uses estar, since temperature is a state rather than an essence. This matters more than usual with this word: applied to a person, "caliente" with estar has a sexual meaning, which is why the gloss in this course warns that it is for things and food only. Use "tener calor" for a person who feels hot.

Where English speakers slip

Pull the ie apart and you get "ka-lee-EN-teh", four beats where three belong. That is the pronunciation error; the usage error is more expensive. Describing a person as "caliente" is a well-known trap for learners who translate hot literally. Stick to "tengo calor" for yourself and "hace calor" for the weather.