10 - How to Talk About the Weather in French
Need a conversation starter? Listen to this episode to find out how to talk about the weather in French, the ultimate topic for small talk. ☔️☀️
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Links & Cheat Sheet
Transcript
Intro: Welcome to the French Made Easy podcast, where I give you all the basics you need to speak French clearly and confidently. I'm your host, Mathilde, and I'm a French teacher, mumpreneur, and bread and cheese lover. Join me as I dive into all things French for beginners, and deliver to you bite-sized and easy-to-follow lessons every Tuesday. Let's get started, "on commence"!
Hey guys! Bienvenue, welcome to another episode of French Made Easy. It's episode number 10, numéro 10, and I'm super happy to have you here. Today we'll learn some essential small talk: how to talk about the weather.
I kid you not; it's a favorite topic for French people. I call my parents every week, they're in Paris, and whether it's sunny, raining, snowing, you name it, the weather will come up at some point in the conversation.
Anyway, as always, make sure you download your episode cheat sheet, so you can listen to the lesson and see how the words are written at the same time!
Ready? On y va. Let's go.
So, when you want to find out what the weather is outside, you can either watch the weather forecast (la météo) or take the lazy option, like I do 😬, and ask your partner:
Quel temps fait-il ? (What's the weather like?)
Now I'm going to give you some possible answers to this.
When it's hot outside, say: il fait chaud.
If it's cold out, you say: il fait froid.
If it's nice out, you say: il fait beau.
If it's bad outside, say: il fait moche.
A quick note here, "il fait" literally means “it makes” but when used in this context, it translates as "it is."
Parfait. Let's recap these 4 phrases.
Il fait chaud. (It's hot.) 🥵
Il fait beau. (It's nice out.) 🌞
Il fait froid. (It's cold.) 🥶
Il fait moche. (The weather is bad.)
Super.
Now, when it's sunny, you say: il y a du soleil. ☀️
If it's cloudy, say il y a des nuages. ☁️
When it's windy, you say il y a du vent. 🌬
If it's foggy, say il y a du brouillard. 🌫
Another. note here, "il y a " literally means “there is” or "there are." But again, in this context, it translates as "it is."
Génial, great. Let's recap these 4 phrases.
Il y a du soleil. (It's sunny.)
Il y a des nuages. (It's cloudy.)
Il y a du vent. (It's windy.)
Il y a du brouillard. (It's foggy.)
Ok, très bien. Very good. Almost there, 2 more phrases:
When it's raining, you say il pleut. ☔️
If it's snowing, say il neige. ❄️
Great guys. On y est presque, we’re almost there. We're going to repeat all of these sentences together, alright?
Quel temps fait-il? (What's the weather like?)
Il fait chaud. (It's hot.)
Il fait beau. (It's nice out.)
Il fait froid. (It's cold.)
Il fait moche. (The weather is bad.)
Il y a du soleil. (It's sunny.)
Il y a des nuages. (It's cloudy.)
Il y a du vent. (It's windy.)
Il y a du brouillard. (It's foggy.)
Il pleut. (It's raining.)
Il neige. (It's snowing.)
Parfait, you've done it! Now you'll never be short of a conversation starter.
That's the end of this episode, thank you so much for listening guys. Don’t forget to go to your lesson’s exercises by clicking the link in the episode’s note. Make sure you hit subscribe, so you don't miss out on any new episodes. And if you are enjoying this podcast, I'd really appreciate a quick rating and review!
Merci beaucoup et à bientôt. 👋