French · Romance & Rejection
C'est chaud / Elle est chaude
say SHOH · /sɛ ʃo/
Dicey/risky — or, of a person, up-for-it (careful)
2/5 Bar-safe
coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances
Literally
"It's hot / She is hot"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
Two live meanings and a trap between them. "C'est chaud" mostly means "that's dicey / tricky / a long shot" ("ça va être chaud" = it'll be tough) — this is the common, harmless one. But calling a person "chaud/chaude" means sexually up-for-it, which is crude and can offend. Use the situation sense freely; avoid the person sense.
Heard in the wild
Finir avant midi ? Ça va être chaud.
Finish before noon? That's gonna be tough.
Where it lands
France (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "C'est chaud / Elle est chaude" mean?
- In French, "C'est chaud / Elle est chaude" means "Dicey/risky — or, of a person, up-for-it (careful)". Literally it's "It's hot / She is hot". Two live meanings and a trap between them. "C'est chaud" mostly means "that's dicey / tricky / a long shot" ("ça va être chaud" = it'll be tough) — this is the common, harmless one. But calling a person "chaud/chaude" means sexually up-for-it, which is crude and can offend. Use the situation sense freely; avoid the person sense.
- Is "C'est chaud / Elle est chaude" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 2/5 (Bar-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances.
- How do you pronounce "C'est chaud / Elle est chaude"?
- Say it "say SHOH" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: sɛ ʃo.
Related in French
Draguer dra-GAY To hit on / chat someone up Putain ! poo-TAN Damn! / F***! / The all-purpose intensifier — punctuation, really Bordel ! bor-DEL What a mess! / Chaos! — also 'what the hell' as an intensifier Putain de merde ! poo-TAN duh MEHRD For f***'s sake! / Goddammit! C'est nul ! say NOOL That sucks / That's lame Putain de bordel de merde ! poo-TAN duh bor-DEL duh MEHRD For f***'s holy sake! — the full three-word combo
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Tough luck".
- German Mist! Crap! / Rats! — the family-friendly 'damn'
- Greek σιγά Big deal / whatever / calm down / as if — dismissive minimizing.
- Italian Merda! Shit! / Damn it!
- Japanese 勘弁して Give me a break / spare me / oh, come on
- Korean 아이고 Oh dear / oof / good grief — the sound of Korea sitting down after a long day.
- Polish szlag Damn it — 'szlag by to trafił' = may a stroke strike it.
- Portuguese Chato Annoying / boring / a pain
- Russian Капец! That's it, it's over / Damn / Whoa
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