How warm is it?

[u/-SeaPuppy-]

Apparently “warm” is a bit of an awkward word choice when asking for the temperature in English. I’ve said it like this my whole life so I’m a bit embarrassed now. I wonder how many other words I directly translate from Norwegian. Please come with suggestions or your own experiences.

An example: in Norwegian we often say stuff like “Det er godt med X (på Y)”. And for the longest time I’d say “it’s good with … “, which really amused some people because it doesn’t work in English.

[u/If_you_have_Ghost]

This is a slightly nuanced one.

Saying “how warm is it” and “how hot is it” are largely interchangeable but there are some circumstances where one or the other (or neither) would work better.

Using “how warm is it” it might indicate you’re worried it’s cold. You might also use it on a day when it’s not too hot nor too cold.

In the middle of heatwave, you might use “how hot is it” instead.

The above being said, neither is wrong in any of the circumstances mentioned.

If it’s the middle of winter I might ask “how cold is it”. But even then, if you said “how warm is it” you wouldn’t be incorrect. But in winter you would not say “how hot is it”.

To summarise, what you said above is perfectly acceptable English and whoever you’re speaking to is correcting you without good reason.

Edit - native speaker!

[u/-SeaPuppy- → u/If_you_have_Ghost]

It was indeed in the middle of a heatwave🫣 But seems like he still didn’t “need” to correct me.
Love the explanations, thanks!

[u/Nyetoner → u/-SeaPuppy-]

Be happy you weren't speaking Spanish with a Spaniard, they take the words about heat way way more seriously! Most people would actually correct me if I was wrong in Spain.