Learn English – Is it grammatically correct to say “I am (feeling) hot”? (hot vs warm)

differenceword-usage

Definition of hot by Dictionary.com:

having or giving off heat; having a high temperature:

Definition of warm by Dictionary.com:

of or at a moderately high temperature; characterized by comparatively high temperature:


Many people argue that you it is wrong to say "I am (feeling) hot" and argues that "hot" refers to temperature 40℃ and above while "warm" refers to temperature 30-40℃.

I personally feel silly to say "I am (feeling) warm" because it is the fact that you have been warm all the time (unless the temperature just rose to 30℃ or dropped to 40℃).

I have tried to search about this but to no avail. Although I cannot find a direct comparison explanation ("hot" or "warm"), but I can find individually and confirm that both are grammatically correct.

Best Answer

First of all, as a speaker of American English, I would rarely say

I'm feeling hot/warm/cold.

This present progressive use of to feel is used for other things, such as

I'm feeling sick

At any rate, I could say

I'm hot/warm/cold.

if I wanted to report on my personal status.

But in many situations I would report on the temperature of my environment when I feel hot/warm/cold. Thus

It's hot/warm/cold/chilly (in/out here). (Could you fix it so that I'm not hot/warm/cold/chilly?)

So, yes you can say both It's hot or It's warm. And you can say this to either report a fact

It's hot. It's 40°.

It's warm. It's 30°.

or to indicate that you feel hot or warm. But feeling is subjective, and what is hot to one person may be warm to someone else.

Note I can remark on other facets of my environment, such as

It's humid/drafty in here.

but I couldn't say

*I'm humid/drafty

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