浅议英文中表示“热”的词汇

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这几天真是热啊，热死人了，热得要命，热得浑身冒烟了。有趣的是，英语中形容热的词似乎更为丰富，今天我来邀请英汉“热”词进行大PK，结果似乎是英语大为胜出。

先来参观一下英语中有哪些“热词选手”，再来逐一分析其“热度”到底如何：
　　
我找到的各位英文“热”词选手如下（排名不分先后）：

Hot,red-hot,sweltering,stifling,sultry,scorching,scalding,burning,searing,boiling,blistering,blazing,muggy,roasting,sizzling,broiling,baking,torrid,singe,overheat, piping, fiery

这其中有很多不能单独表示热，且各自“热”的类型也不一样，在“热”的能力方面，他们可谓各擅胜场。

一、表达各种“热”的概念

A．用于天气

1、只表示空气不流通，很闷（干）：stuffy, airless,suffocating, still, smother（专用）, gag (专用)

1）stuffy--a room or building that is stuffy does not have enough fresh air in it :

It"s getting stuffy in here – do you mind if I open the window?

2) airless--airless places or conditions are unpleasant because there is not enough fresh air → airy (通风良好的--airy) an airless room

3) suffocating（making it difficult to breathe normally）--be suffocating to feel uncomfortable because there is not enough fresh air :

Can you open a window? I"m suffocating. 能开一下窗么，我快闷死了。The afternoon heat was suffocating.

4）still: not windy : 无风的a hot still day

5）smother－to kill someone by putting something over their face to stop them breathing → suffocate : 这是专用词，专业用于杀人，不可指天气闷――捂住口鼻把人闷死
A teenage mother was accused of smothering her 3-month-old daughter.

6）gag-- [ transitive ] to put a piece of cloth over someone"s mouth to stop them making a noise : 这也是专用词，记得要在绑架和胁迫时才可使用，平时不可随意乱用。该词指用布条、封口胶等封住受害人嘴。不可连鼻子也一起盖住，因为这不是谋杀，只是肋迫哟，要谋杀的话找smother即可（可叹的是这么恐怖的一个词居然有一个mother在里面，不知道造词者当时是怎么想的，难怪smother的例句中都是举的一些10多岁的未婚妈妈把孩子闷死。唉！）

Thugs gagged her and tied her to a chair. 一群混混把她嘴封住，绑在椅子上

He left his victim bound and gagged. 绑起来，把嘴封住。

突然想到，如果不是封住嘴，而是把臭袜子塞进受害人嘴里，又该用什么动词呢？当然可以说put smelly socks into hermouth. 但有没有类似gag这么专业的选手呢？

2、表示空气不流通并且很热，但不潮湿（干热）：oppressive,stifling

1）Oppressive――( of the weather ) extremely hot and unpleasant and lacking fresh air: the oppressive heat of the afternoon

2）stifling－a room or weather that is stifling is very hot and uncomfortable, so that it seems difficult to breathe :

a stifling, crowded train the stifling heat of the tropics

3、空气不流通并且很潮湿所以相当闷热，使人易流汗（湿热）：sultry, steamy, steaming, muggy, humid

1）sultry—(of the weather or air, very hot and uncomfortable) weather that is sultry is hot with air that feels wet SYN humid : 闷热(湿气重，成都夏天的典型天气)
a hot and sultry day Since the rain, the air had become heavy and still and sultry. 自那场雨之后，空气一直都潮湿闷热，没有一丝风。

2）muggy— informal muggy weather is unpleasantly warm and the air seems wet SYN humid　闷热潮湿的
(of weather ) warm and damp in an unpleasant way

a muggy August day 八月里闷热的一天

Muggy和sultry可以换用。

3）steamy—a steamy day or steamy weather feels hot and humid；hot and clammy: unbearably or uncomfortably hot and humid the steamy heat of Tokyo 东京的潮湿闷热

4）steaming—(steaming hot very hot :
It was a steaming hot day.

朗文英英说这是副词，不是形容词。但牛津第8版说它是形容词，这下遇到冲突了。在对多本字典进行同一词汇辨析时，有时会遇到这种冲突现象。真不知道该听谁的了。朗文是我的最爱，牛津又是一位严谨、博学的好老师；柯林斯是一位富有魅力的年轻老师，知识丰富，语言生动有趣。而韦氏又是公认的老学究老权威。唉，我的“唯字典论”又遇到大挑战了。看来，我被各大英文字典逼疯，是迟早的事！

5）Humid: (of the air or climate) warm and damp These ferns will grow best in a humid atmosphere. The island is hot and humid in the summer.

if the weather is humid, you feel uncomfortable because the air is very wet and usually hot → humidity :

Tokyo is extremely humid in mid-summer.

4、只表示热，无空气流通与否的概念，也无潮湿的感觉：

hot, burning, swelter, searing, scorching, blazing, blistering, boiling（口语）, baking（口语）, roasting（口语）,broiling（口语），sizzling, torrid (文气词)

hot: 表示“热”这一概念的最普通、最朴素的词，但是其“热力”却非常强大，特别是与其它“热”词组合之后可表达千变万化的概念：
scorching/baking/roasting hot ( also boiling/broiling hot) American English (= used about weather that is very hot )
a scorching hot week in August (8月里炎热的一周)
stifling/sweltering/unbearably hot (= used about weather that is very hot and uncomfortable ) The office gets unbearably hot in summer.

boiling/scalding/steaming hot (= used about liquid that is extremely hot ) The coffee was scalding hot.
piping hot (= used about food that is nice and hot ) Serve the soup piping hot.
red hot (= used to describe an object or surface that is very hot ) The handle was red hot.
white hot (= used to describe metal that is extremely hot ) He held the metal in the flame until it became white hot.
2）burning: feeling very hot : Claudia put her hands to her burning face; the burning sun

常与hot联用，表达“极度炎热”概念。

3）sweltering: extremely hot and uncomfortable :
sweltering August days to be very hot in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable

Passengers sweltered in temperatures of over 90°F.

热得难受、热得喘不过气

If you describe the weather as sweltering, you mean that it is extremely hot and makes you feel uncomfortable.

4）searing：extremely hot: extremely intense or strong；felt a searing pain；the searing heat of the desert，常接名词heat，不可直接作表语表示炎热，例如不能说：It is searing today.

5) scorching: extremely hot the scorching desert heat a scorching hot day有时可与searing换用：

They walked all day in the scorching (searing) heat.

6) blazing：blazing adjective [ only before noun ] 1 extremely hot :

a blazing August afternoon

(also blazing hot ) extremely hot blazing heat （此处同searing/scorching） a blazing hot day

7）blistering：extremely hot SYN blazing : the blistering heat of the desert extremely hot in a way that is uncomfortable
baking a blistering July day （哈哈，终于来了一个6月的一天了）
blistering heat （可与searing/scorching/blazing换用）

8）sizzling：very hot SYN boiling :

a sizzling afternoon very hot, extremely hot sizzling summer temperatures

9）boiling/baking/roasting/broiling:

boiling: spoken very hot OPP freezing : Can I open a window? It"s boiling in here. It was a boiling hot morning.
baking: used to say that a person or place is
very hot : I"m baking! a baking hot day. ( also baking hot ) extremely hot ――We waited for hours in the baking sun.
roasting: ( also roasting hot ) informal very hot, especially so that you feel uncomfortable : a roasting hot day; I"m absolutely roasting in this suit.
broiling: American English broiling weather, sun etc makes you feel extremely hot SYN boiling : a broiling day

10）Torrid: literary torrid weather is very hot : ( formal )
( of a climate or country ) 多用于正式文体中，常指“干热”hot and dry

the torrid desert sun

a torrid summer

The torrid weather in the United States has had its duplicate here. During last week the thermometer registered between 90 and 95 degrees, touching the maximum on Friday, when 102 was recorded in the shade,making it the hottest day ever recorded in Paris. The extreme heat continues today, without any indication of a break in the hot spell.

B．用于物体

1、 用于液体
　　
1) Piping hot，特别指食物，如汤　A bowl of piping
hot soup
2) Boiling hot
3) Steaming hot
4) Scalding hot：The coffee is scalding hot.

2、 用于固体
1) Red-hot: 用于各种物体
2) White-hot：只用于金属

3、 用于气体
1) Steamy 　The steamy air in this room is
unbearable.
2) Hot: hot air

4、 液体或固体兼可
1) Scalding

a) Scalding hot water: "What do you think of the news that a woman allegedly poured scalding hot water on her husband?"
b) The coffee is scalding hot.
c) The scalding kettle 茶壶烧烫了（茶壶表面摸上去很烫手）: One of the locals had experienced a severe burn on his upper-arm from a scalding kettle.

2) Burning
　　　　
a) A burning piece of iron: "There was a police mobile, so I was relaxed and was on my way to the relative"s house when a burning piece of iron hit my leg and I fell. At first, I thought that the police have opened the fire," he said.
　　　　
b) A burning rock: I myself, based on what you have posted here, would be dropping this guy like a burning rock.

C．用于空间

1） Overheated房间内很热：overheated. 例：

Don"t sleep in an overheated room. I think the engine"s overheating again. Try not to overheat the sauce.

2） Stifling：a stifling, crowded train

D　用于人

表示人感觉热，又该用什么词呢？众多“热”词选手中，只有几个有此能力。

1、hot: if you feel hot, your body feels hot in a way that is uncomfortable : I was hot and tired after the journey.
The wine made her feel hot.
I feel so hot that I want to take off all my clothes.

不过，近几年在口语中，hot越来越多地指其他意思了。

A hot girl. She is hot. 等再也不是“感觉很热”的意思了。

2. bake　（vi）used to say that a person or place is very hot :
We sat baking in the sun.
I"m baking!
I am baked in the scorching sun.

3. roasted/roasting: I am roasting/roasted in the scorching sun.
a roasting hot day
I"m absolutely roasting in this suit.

4. sweat/perspire:

I was sweating a lot despite the air conditioning.
sweat heavily/profusely (= sweat a lot ) Within minutes she was sweating profusely.

perspire：If you perspire, parts of your body become wet,especially because you are hot or have been doing hard work SYN sweat:

Willie was perspiring heavily.The game of squash left me perspiring profusely.He mopped his perspiring face with a handkerchief.

5、boiling: You must be boiling in that sweater.
(Informal) It is boiling hot in here.

E　用于物体

1） Singe: to damage hair, wool, paper etc by burning it slightly so that the ends or edges are burnt : The flames were hot enough to singe your eyebrows.
　　
因为温度太高而致毛发、纸张、毛制品等物体边缘稍稍卷起，但没有破坏得严重。这个词的过去分词要特别注意，不是singing，那成了“唱歌”啦，而是singeing

2） scorch：To damage the surface of something by burning it so that a dark mark is left on it : Having the iron on a very high heat can scorch the fabric. The heater was left on all night and it scorched the wall.
　　
直接灼烧物体表面导致表面烧焦留下一个烧焦（糊）的印迹――破坏性比singe强。例：Having the iron on a very high heat can scorch the fabric. The heater was left on all night and it scorched the wall.

3） burn　直接焚烧，以达到完全破坏之目的　（等同于set fire to或set …on fire…这是明目张胆的“放火”了）――破坏性最强

4） Scald: to burn your skin with very hot liquid or steam: The coffee was so hot it nearly scalded his tongue.| It"s easy to knock a pan off the stove and scald yourself. | He was scalded by steam escaping from the broken pipe.

二、热的抽象概念和比喻用法

1、 scalding: (literary) scalding tears feel hot on your skin :
Scalding tears poured down her face. 滚烫的泪水从她脸上奔流而下。

2、 sultry:

1) （与性有关）色迷迷的，好色：a woman who is sultry makes other people feel strong sexual attraction to her :
She threw Carlo a sultry glance. 她色迷迷地瞟了卡罗一眼。

2) ( formal ) ( of a woman or her appearance 女子或其外表) sexually attractive; seeming to have strong sexual feelings
姿色迷人的，风情万种的，性感的、火辣的、惹火的

a sultry film star　　一个身材惹火的（火辣的）电影明星
a sultry smile 迷人的微笑
a sultry singer 嗓音撩人的歌手

3、 steamy: a steamy love scene
(informal) sexually exciting 色情的 (= erotic)

4、 scorching：( especially BrE ) used to emphasize how strong, powerful, etc. sth is

a scorching critique of the government"s economic policy
对政府经济政策的严历批评
a scorching 6–1 victory

5、 Blazing: 表示发怒的程度

full of strong emotions, especially anger : He jumped to his feet in a blazing fury.

6、 Burning:
1) 与“理想、抱负、目标、愿望、欲望、需求”等词组合，表示“十分强烈的”程度

burning ambition/desire/need etc a burning AMBITION ,desire, need etc is very strong :

My burning ambition is to be world champion.a burning desire to win
He"s always had a burning ambition to start his own business.

b) 表示“十分棘手”的问题
burning issue/question a burning issue or question is very important and urgent :
Education has become a burning issue in this election.

7、 Fiery:　（无fiery hot的说法））
　　
a. 表示酒很烈：fiery (The fiery liquor burnt its sway down her throat. )
　　
b. 表示火红的东西：fiery还可指看上去火红的东西：The sun was now sinking, a fiery ball of light in the west.太阳像一团光亮的火球，从西边天际落下)

因为有red-hot，那么有没有fiery-hot呢？笔者作了一番研究，结论是倾向于“没有”。

到底有没有fiery-hot的说法呢？有人认为fiery-hot相当于red-hot，网上有的在线字典也豁然出现fiery-hot词条，意为“火热、滚烫”等概念，但是我收集的多本英文字典皆未收录fiery-hot词条。google英、美网页查到用fiery-hot的例子甚少，因此我认为fiery-hot这种说法不普遍，一般用red-hot代替。

这里想抛出一个关于字典使用的问题，学英语数十年来，我渐渐尝到勤用字典的甜头，但同时又深陷“唯字典论”的泥沼不能自拔。“唯字典论”就是说，在使用英文词汇时，遇到不能确认用法和意义的我都会查英文原版字典，如果查询多本原版字典都查不到某个词的某个用法，则一般不敢轻易使用，因为我固执地认为那不是正确的用法。但是，语言是发展变化的，词汇的运用也是相当灵活的，我的这种思维是否太过僵化？比如，以fiery-hot为例，在写作中把它当red-hot一样来使用，是否真的不可以？我暂没有答案。

网上查到一条例句：

A tourist strolled into a blacksmith shop just after the smith had put a fiery-hot horseshoe on a bench to cool.
一位游客闲逛一家铁匠铺，这时铁匠恰好刚把一块烧得很烫的马蹄铁放在板凳上冷却。

我倾向于用red-hot（烧得通红的马蹄铁），因为red-hot是字典上是有收录并且有大量例句的，如果用fiery-hot，由于在各大英文字典上都查不到，我就没有信心放心使用了，这是我的“唯字典论”在作怪。

Google“fiery-hot”词条，查询在英文网页中该词的使用频率，结果如下：

"fiery hot" site:uk
获得约 1,600 条结果 （用时 0.11 秒）

"fiery hot" site:us
获得约 181 条结果 （用时 0.12 秒）

以上结果表明，fiery-hot在英国和美国的所有网站中使用频度都低于2000，在美国甚至低于200，据经常google查询单词的经验，这个结果几乎等同于“这个词在英文世界中不存在”！因此，笔者想借此文抛出这个“唯字典论”的观点与英文爱好者探讨，希望得到专业建议。

三、其他与热相关的词

1、因热引起的病
Heatstroke, sunstroke,heat exhaustion, heat prostration

heatstroke－－
sunstorke――阳光直接暴晒引起的

日常生活中，我们更宜接触“轻度中暑”，其相应的英文表达为heat exhaustion或heat prostration（直译：因受热而引起虚脱）。与heatstroke/sunstroke相比，heat exhaustion/heat prostration一般不会引起生命危险。

2. 天气热时要注意防晒

1） parasol a type of umbrella used to provide shade from the sun (太阳伞)　女士特别要注意阳晒，各种防晒产品中太阳伞是最环保的。

2） sunblock/sunscreen: a cream or oil that you rub into your skin to stop the sun from burning you → sunblock 防晒霜　这是夏天外出必不可少的。防晒霜又分不同防晒效果，叫SPF（Sun Protection Factor）防晒系数，表明防晒用品所能发挥的防晒效能的高氏。SPF值越大，阳晒效果越好。

3） makeup remover/cleansing water/makeup removal pads: 回到家里，脸上厚厚的防晒霜加上油油的汗液真的让人伤透脑筋，赶紧除之而后快。但可不要马虎用水一抹了事。防晒霜是一种化妆品，直接清水是不易清除的，必须使用专用的“卸妆液”。

4） toner: 卸了妆后要打一点保湿水，处理完防晒霜后同样要用一点toner，让皮肤保持滋润　丁家宜防晒霜系列产品有一款“晒后露”非常不错，用卸妆液洗了脸后，抹上一点“晒后露”，感觉脸上非常清爽，有淡淡的薄荷清香，在炎热的夏天真是舒服啊。

5） Sunglasses　　太阳镜　开车的朋友们不要忘了载上sunglasses，因为长时间盯着白晃晃的路面，眼睛是受不了的。

6） Topee: a light hard hat that you wear to protect your head from the sun in hot countries　不一定非要打棒球才戴帽子哟。出去玩儿时太阳太毒，也需要戴一顶这种类似棒球帽的东东。

7） Cool off: (phrasal verb): to return to a normal temperature after being hot : Cool off with an iced drink; By late autumn Mediterranean islands have cooled off, and can have rainy days.　热晕了，赶紧买一瓶冻到0度的冰红茶，一口喝下去，那才叫爽啊。

8） Shade: She was sitting in the shade of a large oak tree; The temperature was over 90 degrees in the shade.　　大热天走了20公里路，看到路边有一棵大槐树，真的要感谢上帝了，立即躲到树荫下吧。好好休息一下。

9） Sunscreen spray: Sunscreen spray is applied to the skin from a convenient spray bottle to protect the skin from damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays. Sometimes referred to as sunblock, sunscreen spray is easier to apply than lotion because it can be sprayed on hard-to-reach areas like the shoulder blades and back. Many doctors recommend sunscreen for those who spend time outdoors, especially during peak hours of 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., when the high angle of the sun allows more UV rays to penetrate the earth"s protective atmosphere.
防晒喷雾。（强力补充一个pepper spray 防狼喷雾）

10） Spray bottle: 就是很多女生用的地种小瓶瓶儿，轻轻一按就把保湿水喷到脸上。

11） Suntanned：美国女人喜欢把皮肤晒成古铜色，认为主既健康又美。我还是比较喜欢white complexion

12） Sunburn: red and painful skin that you can get from spending too much time in the sun　晒红（晒伤）

四、不同文化中形容热的句子

1.It"s so warm that the dog is chasing the cat, but both are walking! 热得狗都追不动猫了！ -South Africa 南非
2. Flies are falling down tired.! 热得苍蝇都纷纷落下来！ --Czech republic 捷克共和国
3.I"m sweating fat! 我在出脂肪！ --Denmark 丹麦
4.It"s stifling! 真闷，让人窒息啊！ --Belgium 比利时
5.I am leaking! 我的身体在滴水啊！ --Germany 德国
6.Chicken leg is burning 鸡腿在燃烧！ --Hong Kong 香港
7.It"s raining fire! 不是下雨，是在下火啊！ --Iran 伊朗
8.It"s so hot my tongue is hanging out。 热的我把舌头耷拉出来了！ --Romania 罗马尼亚
9.I am sweating like a chicken! 汗出得象只鸡！ --England 英格兰
10.It is like a Turkish bath. 象土耳其浴。 --Turkey 土耳其
11.Warm today， isn"t it ？天真暖和，不是吗？ --Arab 阿拉伯
12.It"s as hot as in a sauna! 热的象在蒸桑拿！--Finland 芬兰
13.You could boil a kettle on your head。 你可以在头上将水烧沸。 --Ireland 爱尔兰
14.It"s hot enough to melt hell! 热得足以把地狱溶化了！ --Wales 威尔士
16.It"s so dry the trees are following the dogs around. 太干了，树下都围着一圈狗。--Texas 美国得克萨斯州
17.Sticky as a box of frogs。 象一盒子青蛙一样黏。 --Australia 澳大利亚
18.You could fry eggs on the sidewalk！ 人行道上可以煎蛋了。 --Canada 加拿大

口语中表达“我天气太热了的常用说法：
1.It"s hot enough to melt hell. I hope it will be cooler soon.
现在热得足以把地狱熔化了，希望很快能够凉快一点。

2.It"s stifling! I can hardly breathe.天气太闷热了！我都没法呼吸了。

3.I can"t bare the heat; I am leaking!
我受不了这么热，我浑身都在滴水！

4.I am sweating like a pig, and I"m not doing anything.
虽然我什么都没做，但还是汗流浃背。

5.Let"s stay at home; you could fry eggs on the sidewalk.
我们呆在家里吧，人行道上都可以煎蛋了。

6.I don"t want to go out; it"s raining fire!
我不想出去，天气火热火热的！

7.It"s too hot to think. I need to find someplace to cool off.
热得我都没法思考。我需要找个地方凉快凉快。

8.Today is a thermometer breaker! Let"s go swimming.
今天热得温度计都要爆了！我们去游泳吧。

9.It"s hot with a capital "H". Turn up the air conditioner!
今天是最热的一天，快把空调打开！

10.It"s not just hot, It"s Africa hot! This wather is terrible.
不止是热，是像非洲一样热！天热得吓人。