How are you today? The next lesson is another simple yet essential topic for you to learn: the weather. Knowing words related to the weather and learning how to discuss it will help you when starting small talk, as well as in planning your activities (and clothing) based on the weather report.
The weather is quite a useful topic to discuss. When at a loss for what to say, who hasn’t turned to this fail-safe topic?
In French, the word for weather is le temps and the verb commonly used with it is faire in its impersonal form (il fait).
Avoir is used in some cases too (il y a…) but être is mostly never used when referring to normal weather conditions.
Some common questions when asking about the weather include:
Listen Track 121
o Quel temps fait-il?
o Quel est le climat?
o Il fait quel temps?
Note: All three are similar to “How’s the weather?”
Other ways to ask about the weather :
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o Quel temps fait-il aujourd’hui? What is the weather like today?
o Comment est la météo? What is the weather forecast?
o Quel temps fera-t-il demain? What will the weather be like tomorrow?
o Quel temps est prévu pour aujourd’hui? What’s the weather forecast for today?
o Quel temps est prévu pour cette semaine? What’s the weather forecast for this week?
These are the most common terms you can use either to answer weather-related questions or simply to remark about the weather.
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Il fait…. It’s…
Chaud Hot
Frais Cool
Froid Cold
Beau Nice out
Mauvais Bad weather
Humide humid
Nuageux cloudy
Orageux stormy
__degrés __degrees (Note: the French use Celsius for noting temperature)
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You can add “très” (very) to apply emphasis, such as “il fait très chaud” (it’s very hot).
You can also use il y a to tell if there are present conditions in the weather.
Il y a…. It’s….
…du soleil …sunny
…du vent …windy
…du brouillard …foggy
Il n’y a pas de nuages. It’s not cloudy.
Specific verbs may also be used for telling the weather, such as pleuvoir (to rain) or neiger (to snow).
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Il pleut It’s raining.
il pleut à verse It’s raining hard/ it’s pouring.
Il neige It’s snowing
il gèle It’s freezing
Now, let’s talk about extreme weather conditions featuring the verb être.
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C’est… It’s…
…un cyclone …a cyclone
…gelé …freezing
…glacé …icy
…un typhon …a typhoon
…une tornade ….a tornado
…un orage …a storm
…un ouragan …a hurricane
…la canicule …a heat wave
…le déluge …a downpour
Other weather-related phrases :
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Il fait très beau. It’s good weather.
Le temps est mauvais. It’s bad weather.
Le temps est magnifique. It’s beautiful weather.
Le temps est terrible. It’s terrible weather.