hot and spicy

Meaning

'Hot and spicy' describes food that has a strong, burning flavor caused by spices like chili peppers, black pepper, or garlic. It refers to both the physical heat sensation in the mouth and the rich flavor of spices. It is commonly used to describe cuisines like Mexican, Thai, or Indian.

Examples

• I love eating hot and spicy chicken wings on the weekend.

  I love eating hot and spicy chicken wings on the weekend.

• This curry is too hot and spicy for my children to eat.

  This curry is too hot and spicy for my children to eat.

• Sichuan food is famous for being incredibly hot and spicy.

  Sichuan food is famous for being incredibly hot and spicy.

• If you don't like hot and spicy dishes, you should order the mild noodles.

  If you don't like hot and spicy dishes, you should order the mild noodles.

• She added extra chili flakes to make the salsa hot and spicy.

  She added extra chili flakes to make the salsa hot and spicy.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I don't like spicy and hot food.

  ✓ I don't like hot and spicy food.

  While grammatically possible, 'hot and spicy' is a fixed binomial phrase. Reversing the order sounds unnatural to native speakers.

• ✗ This soup is very hot spicy.

  ✓ This soup is very hot and spicy.

  You must use the conjunction 'and' to connect the two adjectives in this common descriptive phrase.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Be careful with that salsa; it is extremely ___.

  💡 Having a strong, burning flavor from chili.

  Show answer

  hot and spicy

• I prefer mild food because I cannot eat anything ___.

  💡 Pungent and burning due to peppers.

  Show answer

  hot and spicy