Lesson 54: Talking About the Weather
You will use weather words all the time in German. They come up in small talk, in messages, when making plans, and when deciding what to wear. In this lesson, you’ll learn the weather vocabulary you actually need and the short, natural sentences that help you use it right away.
What You’ll Learn
- How To Ask About The Weather
- How To Use The Main Weather Words
- How To Say Simple Weather Sentences
- How To Talk About Rain, Snow, Wind, Fog, Hail, And Thunderstorms
- How To Describe The Weather In A Short, Natural Way
Asking About The Weather
The most useful question is:
Wie ist das Wetter?
How Is The Weather?
You can also say:
Wie ist das Wetter heute?
How Is The Weather Today?
These are simple questions you can use in everyday conversation.
Important Weather Vocabulary
Here are the words you should know from this lesson:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Das Wetter | The Weather |
| Die Sonne | The Sun |
| Der Regen | The Rain |
| Der Schnee | The Snow |
| Der Wind | The Wind |
| Das Gewitter | The Thunderstorm |
| Die Wolke | The Cloud |
| Der Nebel | The Fog |
| Der Hagel | The Hail |
| Sonnig | Sunny |
| Bewölkt | Cloudy |
| Windig | Windy |
| Regnerisch | Rainy |
| Kalt | Cold |
| Warm | Warm |
| Heiß | Hot |
| Schön | Nice |
| Schlecht | Bad |
Talking About The Weather With Es Ist …
German often uses Es ist … when talking about the weather.
Es ist kalt.
It Is Cold.
Es ist warm.
It Is Warm.
Es ist heiß.
It Is Hot.
Es ist sonnig.
It Is Sunny.
Es ist windig.
It Is Windy.
Es ist bewölkt.
It Is Cloudy.
Es ist regnerisch.
It Is Rainy.
Es ist neblig.
It Is Foggy.
Talking About Rain, Snow, And Other Weather
German also uses complete weather sentences like these:
Es regnet.
It Is Raining.
Es schneit.
It Is Snowing.
You can also talk about other weather conditions with simple sentences:
Es gibt Wind.
There Is Wind.
Es gibt Nebel.
There Is Fog.
Es gibt Hagel.
There Is Hail.
Es gibt ein Gewitter.
There Is A Thunderstorm.
These are useful because they let you use the nouns from the lesson naturally.
Talking About Good Or Bad Weather
Sometimes you do not want to describe the weather in detail. You just want to say whether it feels good or not.
Das Wetter ist schön.
The Weather Is Nice.
Das Wetter ist schlecht.
The Weather Is Bad.
These are short, useful sentences that sound natural.
Putting Weather Ideas Together
You already know und and aber, so you can say a little more now.
Es ist kalt und windig.
It Is Cold And Windy.
Es ist sonnig und warm.
It Is Sunny And Warm.
Es ist kalt, aber sonnig.
It Is Cold, But Sunny.
Es ist bewölkt und regnerisch.
It Is Cloudy And Rainy.
This helps you move beyond one-word weather answers.
Nouns And Adjectives In Weather
Some weather words are nouns:
- die Sonne
- der Regen
- der Schnee
- der Wind
- das Gewitter
- die Wolke
- der Nebel
- der Hagel
Some weather words are adjectives:
- sonnig
- bewölkt
- windig
- regnerisch
- kalt
- warm
- heiß
- schön
- schlecht
That is why German can say both:
Die Sonne scheint.
The Sun Is Shining.
and
Es ist sonnig.
It Is Sunny.
You do not need to memorize a rule here. You just need to notice that German sometimes talks about the weather with a noun and sometimes with an adjective.
