Inma, I love your new endeavor!! And I truly appreciate the mini-podcast; una idea buenisimo. Espero que continúe todo.
Bochorno:
More than just heat
If you’ve ever experienced a hot, sticky summer day in a Spanish-speaking country, you may have heard someone mutter the word bochorno with a groan. But what exactly does it mean, where does it come from, and how is it used across the Spanish-speaking world? Find lots of interesting things about this word below – and if you prefer listening over reading, scroll to the bottom of the page to catch our mini-podcast, where we unpack it all in a fun, bite-sized episode spoken at a natural, native pace to train your ear.
📖 What it means
Bochorno refers to that sticky, sweaty, heavy heat that clings to your skin, often just before a thunderstorm.
¡Qué bochorno hace hoy!
It’s so muggy today!
🤔 Why it’s curious and memorable
🔹 It’s not just heat
Bochorno ≠ calor.
It’s a specific kind of oppressive heat, humid, heavy and uncomfortable. It’s often linked with stormy weather, especially in tropical or coastal regions.
🔹 Feels familiar, but sounds dramatic
Spanish speakers use it with emphasis and emotion:
Estoy empapado del bochorno.
I’m soaked from the heat.
The word feels theatrical, almost like the air is putting on a tantrum.
🔹 From weather to shame?
Interestingly, bochorno also means embarrassment or shame:
Pasé un bochorno horrible en la reunión.
I had a terribly embarrassing moment at the meeting.
Link? That same red-faced, sweaty discomfort.
🔹 Common across Latin America
Widely used in Mexico, the Caribbean, parts of Central and South America and Spain, mainly in the south, where the temperatures are higher.
It’s especially relevant in tropical summers, where afternoon storms brew after hot, sticky mornings.
🔄 Derivatives of bochorno
1. Abochornar (verb)
Meaning: To make someone feel embarrassed, ashamed or flustered.
Me abochornó con ese comentario delante de todos.
He embarrassed me with that comment in front of everyone.
2. Abochornado / Abochornada (adjective / past participle)
Meaning: Embarrassed, flustered or emotionally overwhelmed.
Estaba tan abochornada que no podía ni levantar la mirada.
She was so embarrassed that she couldn’t even lift her gaze.
Juan salió bochornado de la sala tras darse cuenta de que llevaba la camisa al revés.
Juan left the room embarrassed after realizing he was wearing his shirt inside out.
3. Bochornoso / Bochornosa (adjective)
Meaning = shameful (referring to a situation)
Es una situación bochornosa.
It´s a shameful situation.
Estaba tan borracho que se puso a contar chistes verdes a su suegra – ¡qué bochornoso!
He was so drunk that he started telling dirty jokes to his mother-in-law — how embarrassing!
Sinceramente, el comportamiento de Miguel ayer me pareció bochornoso.
To be honest, Miguel’s behaviour yesterday was very shameful.
📚 Where the word comes from
Origin: The Real Academia de la Lengua Española (RAE) says that it comes from the latin “vulturnus” (a warm wind from the east)
Over time, it became both a weather term and an expression for emotional heat (embarrassment, shame).
📖 Mini-podcast: bochorno by Inma & Silvia
Have a listen to natives Inma and Silvia‘s mini-podcast about this very interesting word and its derivatives. Notice how very different their accents are, Silvia from the Basque country and Inma from Andalusia.
Author info
After working in the travel industry for ten years in Seville, Inma moved to the UK to give a little twist to her life. Since then she's been teaching Spanish as a foreign language to adults for over 15 years in different settings, private lessons, secondary schools and online. Inma is a coffee lover and also loves exploring new places with her family in beautiful Warwickshire, where she lives.
Comments: 6
Hola Armando - Thank you so much! We're really glad you enjoyed the mini-podcast. Silvia and I will be making podcasts about lots of interesting topics - suggestions are very very welcome if you have any. Saludos. Inma
Hola Neville
I'm not 100% sure what the difference between shame and embarrassment exactly is in English, other than shame being more of a "deeper" feeling that is probably to do with moral and social standards? Maybe when you cheat on someone, for example and you feel ashamed? And I think I see embarrassment as something that feels "lighter" and more external, like if you trip over in the street and lots of people see you or something like that.
In Spanish, I don't think we have that distinction as we normally use the word "vergüenza" for both shame and embarrassment, e.g. me dio vergüenza, estoy avergonzada..., and the same goes for "bochorno" and estar or sentirse abochornado/-a, although bochorno is more intense than vergüenza.
Gracias y un saludo cordial
Inma
Muchísimas Gracias, Inma y Silvia ... Sí - ahora mismo [en Andalucía], hace bochorno agobiante. Por eso, hemos comprado una deshumidificador... Así, aprendimos una palabra de *ocho sílabas* [cuya forma plural tiene nueve sílabas !]... Creo que fue nuestro primer uso de una palabra tan larga ! .... Saludos cordiales
Hola David
Síiiii, ¡qué bochorno hace! ¡En Sevilla 40 grados!
"Deshumidificador", vaya, sí que es larguita... Intenta decirlo rápido :))
Espero que estés bien.
Un saludo
Inma