Hot or Spicy

 When English-Speaking people talk

about "hot" food, are they saying

the food is spicy like curry, or are they

talking about its temperature, as in hot

"coffee"? These two different meanings

of "hot" may seem confusing to Japanese

students, but as a matter of fact, the word

is the right one for describing the way the

body responds to spice and heat. A simple

explanation would go something like this:

when we eat or drink, the same nervous

in the mouth react both to spicy chemicals

in the food and to a rise in temperature.

The English expression, therefore, reflects

the fact about human body.