The weather and small talk
Say what the weather is like in Celsius, name the seasons and what to wear, and make small talk about the weather with neighbors and colleagues.
Out and about · Start from zero · 15 min · 20 exercises · Start from zero, High school, Goethe A1
The weather is the safest topic in any language, and in Germany it opens many short conversations at the bus stop, in the elevator or in the office kitchen. This lesson gives you the weather sentences with es, the seasons, the clothes you need and the little question tag oder? that turns a comment into small talk.
Weather words
- das WetterweatherWie ist das Wetter? = What is the weather like?
- die SonnesunDie Sonne scheint.
- der RegenrainEs regnet. = It is raining.
- der SchneesnowEs schneit. = It is snowing.
- der WindwindEs ist windig.
- die Wolkedie WolkencloudEs ist bewölkt. = It is cloudy.
- der Graddegree (Celsius)zwanzig Grad: no plural ending after a number
- der Regenschirmdie Regenschirmeumbrella
- die Jackedie Jackenjacket
- die Mützedie Mützenknit hat, beanie
- der Schaldie Schalsscarf
- die Sonnenbrilledie Sonnenbrillensunglassessingular in German
Inside the platform every word is read aloud by a German voice.
Small talk at the bus stop
Jonas and his neighbor Frau Berger wait for the bus in Freiburg.
Talking about the weather with es
German weather sentences start with es, like the English „it“: Es regnet. Es schneit. Es ist kalt. Es ist windig. Only the sun gets its own sentence: Die Sonne scheint. For the temperature say Es sind 20 Grad (It is 20 degrees). The question is Wie ist das Wetter?, or for tomorrow Wie ist das Wetter morgen? The verb always stays in second position, so after Heute you say Heute regnet es.
Wie ist das Wetter?
| German | English | Good to have |
|---|---|---|
| Es regnet. | It is raining. | der Regenschirm |
| Es schneit. | It is snowing. | die Mütze |
| Die Sonne scheint. | The sun is shining. | die Sonnenbrille |
| Es ist kalt. | It is cold. | die Jacke und der Schal |
| Es ist warm. | It is warm. | ein T-Shirt |
| Es ist heiß. | It is hot. | Wasser |
| Es ist windig. | It is windy. | eine Jacke |
| Es ist bewölkt. | It is cloudy. | nothing special |
Seasons and more weather words
- der Frühlingspringim Frühling = in spring
- der Sommersummer
- der Herbstfall, autumn
- der Winterwinter
- kaltcold
- warmwarm
- heißhottemperature only, not spicy
- windigwindy
- bewölktcloudy
- sonnigsunny
- der NebelfogEs ist neblig.
- das Gewitterdie Gewitterthunderstorm
- nasswet
- trockendry
Inside the platform every word is read aloud by a German voice.
Degrees and seasons
- Es sind 25 Grad.It is 25 degrees.Celsius: about 77 Fahrenheit, a warm day
- Es sind minus fünf Grad.It is minus five degrees.below freezing, 23 Fahrenheit
- Im Winter schneit es oft.In winter it often snows.im + season
- Im Sommer ist es heiß.In summer it is hot.
- Im Herbst ist es windig und nass.In the fall it is windy and wet.
- Schönes Wetter heute, oder?Nice weather today, isn't it?oder? at the end asks for agreement
Degrees are Celsius
Germany, Austria and Switzerland measure in Grad Celsius. Water freezes at 0 and boils at 100, so 10 Grad is jacket weather, 20 Grad is pleasant, and 30 Grad is a heat wave (die Hitze). A quick rule for Americans: double the Celsius number and add 30 to get a rough Fahrenheit value. The weather is a safe topic for small talk with neighbors and colleagues, and Germans like to say Es gibt kein schlechtes Wetter, nur falsche Kleidung (there is no bad weather, only the wrong clothes).
Weather small talk follows a simple pattern: a short comment plus oder?, which works like „isn't it?“: Kalt heute, oder? Then agree with Ja, wirklich (yes, really) or add the forecast: Ja, aber morgen scheint die Sonne. Finish with Schönen Tag noch! (have a nice day).
Do not translate „I am cold“ word for word. Ich bin kalt describes a cold personality. For how you feel, say Mir ist kalt and Mir ist warm. The weather itself takes es: Es ist kalt. And remember that heiß means hot in temperature only; spicy food is scharf.
The exercises of this lesson
20 corrected exercises in two sessions (discovery, practice), including listening items read aloud by a German voice: multiple choice (4), fill in the gap (5), matching (3), sorting (2), word order (1), translation (3), find the mistake (1), gap text (1). Every answer is corrected immediately, with the rule that applies.