Talking About the Weather in French
Talking about the weather · a free French immersion capsule
Useful sentences · 10
Phrases you'll actually use today. Tap Explain for the why behind each one.
Il fait beau aujourd'hui, tu ne trouves pas ?
The weather is lovely today, don't you think?
Literal It makes beautiful today, you don't find?
A natural conversation opener about weather. 'Il fait beau' is the standard French expression for good weather.
- 'Il fait' + adjective is the standard impersonal weather expression
- 'Tu ne trouves pas ?' is a conversational tag question meaning 'don't you think?'
Oui, mais il va pleuvoir cet après-midi selon la météo.
Yes, but it's going to rain this afternoon according to the forecast.
Literal Yes, but it goes to rain this afternoon according to the weather.
Uses near-future tense (aller + infinitive) to talk about an upcoming weather event.
- 'Il va pleuvoir' = near-future: aller (conjugated) + infinitive
- 'Selon la météo' = according to the forecast
Tu as froid ou tu as chaud en ce moment ?
Are you cold or are you warm right now?
Literal You have cold or you have warm at this moment?
In French, you 'have' cold or warm rather than 'feel' it. These expressions use avoir, not être.
- 'Avoir froid/chaud' = to be cold/warm (literally 'to have cold/warm')
- 'En ce moment' = right now, at this moment
J'ai un peu froid — il fait vraiment frais ce matin.
I'm a bit cold — it's really chilly this morning.
Literal I have a little cold — it makes really fresh this morning.
Combines 'avoir froid' with 'il fait frais' (it's cool/chilly), a natural pair when describing cool weather.
- 'Un peu' softens the expression: 'a little cold'
- 'Il fait frais' = it's cool or chilly, milder than 'il fait froid'
Quel temps fait-il à Paris en ce moment ?
What's the weather like in Paris right now?
Literal What weather makes it in Paris at this moment?
'Quel temps fait-il ?' is the classic way to ask about the weather in French.
- 'Quel temps fait-il ?' = What is the weather like? (formal subject-verb inversion)
- 'En ce moment' = right now
Il y a beaucoup de nuages, mais il ne pleut pas encore.
There are a lot of clouds, but it isn't raining yet.
Literal It has a lot of clouds, but it doesn't rain yet.
'Il y a' is used with nouns like 'nuages' (clouds), while 'il pleut' is the impersonal verb for rain.
- 'Il y a' + noun for weather: 'il y a du vent' (it's windy), 'il y a du soleil' (it's sunny)
- 'Pas encore' = not yet
En hiver, il neige souvent dans les montagnes.
In winter, it often snows in the mountains.
Literal In winter, it snows often in the mountains.
Describes a seasonal weather pattern using 'il neige' (it snows) in the present tense.
- 'Il neige' = it snows (impersonal verb, like 'il pleut')
- 'En hiver' = in winter; use 'en' for most seasons, 'au' for printemps
S'il fait beau demain, on pourrait aller se promener.
If the weather is nice tomorrow, we could go for a walk.
Literal If it makes beautiful tomorrow, one could go to walk.
Uses a conditional sentence to make plans based on the weather.
- 'Si' + present tense + conditional = a real, possible condition
- 'On pourrait' = we could (conditional of pouvoir)
Le printemps arrive enfin — il fait plus chaud qu'en hiver !
Spring is finally here — it's warmer than in winter!
Literal The spring arrives finally — it makes more warm than in winter!
Uses a comparative adjective with 'plus...que' to compare temperatures across seasons.
- 'Plus chaud que' = warmer than (comparative adjective)
- 'Enfin' = finally, at last
La semaine prochaine, il fera sûrement plus froid.
Next week, it will certainly be colder.
Literal The next week, it will make surely more cold.
Uses the simple future tense 'il fera' for a forecast further in the future.
- 'Il fera' = it will be (simple future of 'faire')
- 'La semaine prochaine' = next week; 'sûrement' = certainly, surely
New words · 10
Themed vocabulary, each with an example you can borrow.
la météo
the weather forecast / the weather
La météo annonce de la pluie pour demain.
The forecast is calling for rain tomorrow.
Colloquially refers to both the forecast and the weather report
pleuvoir
to rain
Il va pleuvoir cet après-midi.
It's going to rain this afternoon.
Impersonal verb — always used with 'il' as subject
frais / fraîche
cool / chilly
Il fait frais ce matin.
It's chilly this morning.
Milder than 'froid'; 'fraîche' is the feminine form
les nuages
the clouds
Il y a des nuages aujourd'hui.
There are clouds today.
neiger
to snow
Il neige en hiver dans les Alpes.
It snows in the Alps in winter.
Impersonal verb, like 'pleuvoir'
chaud
warm / hot
J'ai chaud — il fait très chaud dehors !
I'm warm — it's very hot outside!
Used in 'il fait chaud' (weather) and 'avoir chaud' (personal feeling)
ensoleillé
sunny
La journée est belle et ensoleillée.
The day is beautiful and sunny.
le vent
the wind
Il y a beaucoup de vent aujourd'hui.
It's very windy today.
'Il y a du vent' = it's windy
demain
tomorrow
Demain, il fera beau selon la météo.
Tomorrow it will be nice according to the forecast.
le printemps
spring
Au printemps, il fait souvent doux.
In spring, it's often mild.
Seasons: printemps, été, automne, hiver
Short reading
A tiny story stitched from today's words. Translation is hidden, tap to peek.
Ce matin, Léa regarde par la fenêtre et soupire. Il y a des nuages partout et le vent souffle fort. Elle vérifie la météo sur son téléphone : il va pleuvoir toute la journée. « Dommage », pense-t-elle, « j'avais envie de me promener au parc. » Mais elle sourit quand elle voit la prévision pour le week-end — il fera beau et il fera chaud. Elle décide d'attendre.
Sentence by sentence
Il y a des nuages partout
There are clouds everywhere
'Il y a' + noun is used for weather conditions involving things you can see or count.
le vent souffle fort
the wind is blowing hard
'Souffler fort' describes strong wind; an alternative to 'il y a beaucoup de vent'.
il va pleuvoir toute la journée
it's going to rain all day
Near-future (aller + infinitive) for an imminent forecast. 'Toute la journée' = all day long.
il fera beau et il fera chaud
it will be nice and warm
Simple future of 'faire' used for a forecast further out — here, the weekend.
Pattern of the day
One grammar move, explained once, that unlocks dozens of sentences.
Weather Expressions: 'il fait', 'il y a', and impersonal weather verbs
French uses three impersonal patterns to describe weather: 'il fait' + adjective for general conditions, 'il y a' + noun for observable things, and 'il + weather verb' for precipitation. All three patterns use 'il' as a dummy subject with no real-world referent.
il fait [adjective] | il y a [noun] | il [weather verb]
Il fait beau / froid / chaud / frais.
It's nice / cold / warm / chilly.
Il y a du soleil / du vent / des nuages.
It's sunny / windy / cloudy.
Il pleut / il neige / il gèle.
It's raining / snowing / freezing.
Il va faire beau demain.
It's going to be nice tomorrow.
Mini practice · 5
Low-pressure, never graded. Just enough to make it stick.
It's nice weather today, don't you think?
Hint Use 'il fait' for weather conditions
Tu as froid ou tu as chaud en ce moment ?
Hint French uses 'avoir' (to have) with cold and hot, not 'être'
Oui, mais il va _____ cet après-midi selon la météo.
Hint What weather might the forecast predict?
Which phrase best means 'There are lots of clouds, but it's not raining yet'?
Rewrite using 'le printemps': 'La saison arrive avec plus de chaleur et de fleurs.'
Hint Use the word for spring from the lesson vocabulary
That’s today’s phraseberry.
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