Le thé est chaud ?

Breakdown of Le thé est chaud ?

être
to be
chaud
hot
le thé
the tea

Questions & Answers about Le thé est chaud ?

Why does this question have the exact same word order as a regular statement?
This sentence uses rising intonation to ask a yes or no question. You just take the normal statement (Le thé est chaud) and make your voice go up at the end, similar to asking 'The tea is hot?' in English. It is a very common and casual way to ask questions in spoken French.
Can I use est-ce que to ask this instead?
Yes! You could say Est-ce que le thé est chaud ? and it means the exact same thing. Using just the rising tone of your voice is simply a faster, slightly more casual option.
Why is the 'd' at the end of chaud silent?
In French, final consonants are very often silent. However, that hidden 'd' is still useful! If you were talking about a feminine noun like the water (l'eau), you would add an 'e' to the end to make chaude, and then you would actually pronounce the 'd' sound. Since tea (le thé) is masculine, we use chaud and the 'd' stays silent.
Why is there a space between the word chaud and the question mark?
That is a standard French typing rule! In French, any punctuation mark built with two parts (like the question mark, exclamation point, and colon) requires a space right before it.

Learn Le thé est chaud and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • Practice with interactive exercises
  • Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • Learn at your own pace — completely free