How to say “It's hot” in Korean

"It's hot" in Korean is 더워 (deowo), or 더워요 (deowoyo) to be polite. Korean has different words for hot weather, hot things and spicy food.

Ways to say it

Korean	Level	When to use it
더워 deowo	Casual	Hot weather, or "I'm hot." To friends and family.
더워요 deowoyo	Polite	Polite. Fine with most people.
덥습니다 deopseumnida	Formal	Formal. Heard in weather reports or speeches.
뜨거워 tteugeowo	Casual	Hot to the touch: soup, coffee, a stove. Polite: 뜨거워요 (tteugeowoyo).
매워 maewo	Casual	"It's spicy." For spicy food only. Polite: 매워요 (maewoyo).

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A humid summer day

It's really hot today.

Sipping soup that is too hot

Ouch, it's hot!

Trying a spicy dish

This is too spicy.

Use 덥다 for weather and body heat, 뜨겁다 for things that are hot to the touch, and 맵다 for spicy food. English uses "hot" for all three.

Korean summers are hot and humid, so 더워 죽겠어 (deowo jukgesseo), "I'm dying of heat," is a very common exaggeration.

더워 sounds like "duh-wuh."

More on 더워 and 매워 in our Korean phrase guides.

How do you say "It's spicy" in Korean?

Say 매워 (maewo) casually or 매워요 (maewoyo) politely.

How do you ask "Are you hot?" in Korean?

Say 더워? (deowo?) casually or 더워요? (deowoyo?) politely.