Both 暖かい and 温かい are read あたたかい; 熱い is read あつい.
The idea
Use 暖かい for a warm atmosphere or weather and 温かい for a pleasantly warm object or food. 熱い describes something hot to the touch or taste, such as tea.
| Form | Example |
|---|---|
| 暖かい | 暖かい部屋 |
| 温かい | 温かいスープ |
| 熱い | 熱いお茶 |
Examples
- 今日は暖かいです。Today is warm.
- この部屋は暖かいです。This room is warm.
- スープは温かいです。The soup is warm.
- この手は温かいです。These hands are warm.
- お茶は熱いです。The tea is hot.
- 鍋は熱いですから、気をつけてください。The pot is hot, so please be careful.
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Watch out
Do not confuse 熱い with 暑い, used for hot weather. The two spellings of あたたかい overlap in figurative uses, so context matters.
Try it yourself
今日は＿＿です。（暖かい／温かい／熱い）
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暖かい
暖かい describes the pleasant weather.
スープは＿＿です。（暖かい／温かい／熱い）
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温かい
温かい describes the comfortably warm soup.
お茶は＿＿です。気をつけてください。（暖かい／温かい／熱い）
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熱い
熱い describes tea hot enough to need caution.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
今日は＿＿です。（暖かい／温かい／熱い）
スープは＿＿です。（暖かい／温かい／熱い）
お茶は＿＿です。気をつけてください。（暖かい／温かい／熱い）
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Describe warm weather, warm soup and tea that is too hot.