A better word for 'hot' (spicy)?

I can't speak for other nationalities, but if you are speaking to an American English speaker, they will very likely understand "hot" to mean "spicy", and "spicy" to mean "with hot spice".

I have never actually considered "spicy" to mean anything other than "with hot spice". If you are talking about something that everyone knows has hot spice on it, they will assume that you want it to not have hot spice 999 times out of 1000 if you say:

• "I don't want it too hot" - or - "not too hot"
• "not too spicy"

They will probably get it if you are ordering food that comes with hot spice.

If you don't mind venturing into foreign tongues, you might find that French piquant fits the bill.

Personally, I've had no problems with being understood, when I've said "spicy hot". If you want to be perfectly clear and straight to the point, saying spicy hot is fine.

You are worried about mixing 2 forms of hot:

• spicy hot
• temperature hot

If you are using English in America, saying don't make it too spicy will be understood as don't make it too "spicy hot" if the food is generally hot due to the spices that are in the food.

However, if it is a food with many spices (not just hot ones), you may want to say "don't make it too spicy hot" for extra clarity.

I would agree that you should avoid saying "don't make it too hot" to avoid mixing the two forms of hot I mentioned above.

Hope that helps!