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?
📖 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.
📚 Where the word comes from:
Origin: From Old Spanish “bohornar”, meaning to suffocate or become overheated.
Likely from Latin “vaporāre”, related to steam or vapor.
The evolution connects the physical heat with emotional pressure – genius!
Over time, it became both a weather term and an expression for emotional heat (embarrassment, shame).
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.