How to Talk About Basic Weather Conditions

Learn how to talk about basic weather conditions

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do German by GermanPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about weather conditions in German.

For example, "It's sunny." is

Es ist sonnig.

Aylin Ahrens is in sunny Berlin.

She’s on a long-distance call with Miriam Muller , her former colleague, who asks about the current weather.

Before you hear their conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

Wetter

"weather"

Wetter

sonnig

"sunny"

sonnig

Listen to the conversation, and focus on the response.

Ready?

Wie ist das Wetter?

Es ist sonnig.

Once more with the English translation.

Wie ist das Wetter?

"How's the weather?"

Es ist sonnig.

"It's sunny."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Miriam asks,

"How's the weather?"

Wie ist das Wetter?

First is wie, translating as "how" in this context. Wie. Wie.

Next is ist, "is." Ist. Ist.

Ist is from the verb, sein, "to be." Sein.

Next is das Wetter, "the weather." das Wetter.

Let’s start with Wetter, "weather." Wetter. Wetter.

In German, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Wetter is neuter and singular — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.

Before Wetter is the article das. Think of it like "the" in English. Das. Das.

Das is also neuter and singular to agree with Wetter.

Together, das Wetter, "the weather." das Wetter.

All together, it’s Wie ist das Wetter? "How is the weather?"

Wie ist das Wetter?

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Aylin says,

"It’s sunny?"

Es ist sonnig.

This starts with es, "it." Es. Es.

Next is ist, "is." Ist.

Ist is from the verb sein, meaning "to be." Sein.

Last is sonnig, "sunny." Sonnig. Sonnig.

All together, it’s Es ist sonnig. This literally means "It is sunny," or "It’s sunny."

Es ist sonnig.

The pattern is

Es ist WEATHER CONDITION.

"It’s WEATHER CONDITION."

Es ist WEATHER CONDITION.

To use this pattern, simply replace the {WEATHER CONDITION} placeholder with the current weather condition.

Note: This pattern requires an adjective.

Imagine it's cloudy, bewölkt. "Cloudy." Bewölkt. Bewölkt.

Say

"It's cloudy."

Ready?

Es ist bewölkt.

"It's cloudy."

Es ist bewölkt.

When talking about the weather, it’s common to use impersonal verbs in German. Impersonal verbs are verbs without a fully stated subject and which are conjugated in the third person singular.

For example,"It’s snowing," Es schneit.

Es schneit, literally, "It snows," but translates as "It’s snowing." Es schneit.

Schneit is the third person singular from the verb schneien, "to snow." Schneien.

Note, impersonal verbs are usually accompanied by es.

Pay attention. You’ll see another example of this pattern shortly.

Again, the key pattern is

Es ist WEATHER CONDITION.

"It’s WEATHER CONDITION."

Es ist WEATHER CONDITION.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Es ist sonnig.

"It's sunny."

Es ist sonnig.

Es ist bewölkt.

"It's cloudy."

Es ist bewölkt.

Es ist windig.

"It's windy."

Es ist windig.

Es ist neblig.

"It's foggy."

Es ist neblig.

Es regnet.

"It's raining."

Es regnet.

Did you notice how the last speaker used a different phrase?

Es regnet.

"It's raining."

First is es, "it." Es.

Next is regnet, "rains," as in "It rains." Regnet. Regnet.

Regnet is from the verb regnen, "to rain." Regnen.

Together it's es regnet, literally "it rains," but it translates as "It’s raining." Es regnet.

Let's have a look at another example, es schneit, literally "it snows," but translates as "It’s snowing." Es schneit.

First is es, "it." Es.

Next is schneit, "snows." Schneit. Schneit.

Schneit is from the verb schneien, "to snow." Schneien.

Together it's es schneit, literally "it snows," but it translates as "It’s snowing." Es schneit.

Let’s review the new words.

Bewölkt.

"Cloudy."

Bewölkt.

Winding.

"Windy."

Windig.

Neblig.

"Misty."

Neblig.

Es regnet.

"It’s raining."

Es regnet.

Regnen.

"To rain."

Regnen.

Schneien.

"To snow."

Schneien.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "sunny?"

sonnig

And how to say "it?"

Do you remember how Aylin Ahrens says,

"It’s sunny."

Es ist sonnig.

Do you remember how to say "weather?"

Wetter

And how to say "the weather?"

das Wetter

Do you remember how Miriam asks,

"How's the weather?"

Wie ist das Wetter?

Do you remember how to say

"It’s raining."

Es regnet.

And how to say "cloudy?"

bewölkt

bewökt

Do you remember how to say "windy?"

windig

Let's practice.

Imagine you’re Aylin Ahrens , and you’re in Berlin, where the weather is cloudy, or bewölkt in German.

Ready?

Wie ist das Wetter?

Es ist bewölkt.

Listen again and repeat.

Es ist bewölkt.

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Miriam Muller , and it’s sunny, or sonnig, in Stuttgart.

Ready?

Wie ist das Wetter?

Es ist sonnig.

Listen again and repeat.

Es ist sonnig.

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you’re Arnold 's friend, Marvin Maas , and it rains, or es regnet in Hamburg.

Ready?

Wie ist das Wetter?

Es regnet.

Listen again and repeat.

Es regnet.

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about weather in German. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of talking about the weather. Let’s review.

Do you remember how to say “hot,”?

heiß

Do you remember how Aylin Ahrens says,

"It's hot, isn't it?"

Es ist heiß, oder?

Imagine you're Jack Jones , and it's cold outside.

Do you remember how to say "cold" in German?

kalt

Now, tell your friend that it's cold.

Es ist kalt, oder?

Ja, es ist kalt.

Listen again and repeat.

Es ist kalt, oder?

On a different occasion you're traveling in the mountains and talking with your friend on the phone. Your friend asks how the weather is, and it's windy.

Do you remember how to say "windy" in German?

windig

Respond to your friend and say it's windy.

Wie ist das Wetter?

Es ist windig.

Listen again and repeat.

Es ist windig.

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Talk About the Weather unit of this course.

Remember these Can-Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like.

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Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson!

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