Whether you’re planning your day, making small talk, or simply curious about the forecast, knowing how to talk about the weather in French can be incredibly useful. If you are not familiar with the subject, this guide will cover essential phrases and terms.

Keep reading and find out how to describe the weather!

Key vocabulary for weather in French

Let’s start with some basic vocabulary that will help you understand and describe the weather:

• Le temps The weather
• Quel temps fait-il ? What’s the weather like?
• Aujourd’hui Today
• Demain Tomorrow
• Les prévisions The weather forecast
• La météo The weather forecast on television

Describing the weather in French

When discussing the weather, it’s important to know how to describe different weather conditions. Here are some common phrases:

• Il fait beau It’s nice weather
• Il fait mauvais It’s bad weather
• Il fait froid It’s cold
• Il fait chaud It’s warm/hot
• Il fait du vent It’s windy
• Il pleut It’s raining
• Il neige It’s snowing

Degrees of intensity

To add more detail to your descriptions, you can use adverbs to express the intensity of the weather:

• Il fait très beau It’s very nice weather
• Il fait très chaud It’s very hot
• Il fait très froid It’s very cold
• Il fait assez beau It’s quite nice weather
• Il fait assez froid It’s quite cold
• Il fait vraiment froid aujourd’hui It’s really cold today

Expressing extreme weather

Sometimes, the weather can be quite extreme. Here are some phrases to describe such conditions:

• Il pleut des cordes ! It’s pouring; it’s raining cats and dogs
• Quel temps magnifique ! What wonderful weather!
• Quel temps affreux ! What awful weather!
• Il y a du vent It’s windy – an alternative to il fait du vent

Talking about future weather

Knowing how to talk about future weather conditions is also useful. Here are some phrases to describe what the weather will be like tomorrow:

• Quel temps fera-t-il demain ? What will the weather be like tomorrow?
• Il fera beau It will be nice weather
• Il fera chaud It will be warm/hot
• Il fera froid It will be cold
• Il fera du vent It will be windy
• Il fera mauvais It will be bad weather
• Il pleuvra It will rain
• Il neigera It will snow

Would you like to hear this weather vocabulary pronounced? Listen to episode 21 of Season 1 of the Coffee Break French podcast for more insights and useful phrases to talk about the weather in French.

The seasons in French

Understanding how to talk about the seasons is a vital part of discussing the weather in French. Each season has its own typical weather patterns, and knowing the vocabulary will help you describe these changes throughout the year.

Le printemps

• Au printemps, il fait souvent beau. In spring, the weather is often nice.
• Il pleut fréquemment au printemps. It rains frequently in spring.

L’été

• En été, il fait très chaud. In summer, it is very hot.
• Il y a beaucoup de soleil en été. There is a lot of sunshine in summer.

L’automne

• En automne, il fait souvent frais. In autumn, it is often cool.
  Les feuilles tombent en automne. The leaves fall in autumn.

L’hiver

• En hiver, il fait froid et il neige. In winter, it is cold and it snows.
• Il fait sombre tôt en hiver. It gets dark early in winter.

Mastering the vocabulary and phrases related to the weather will make your daily interactions smoother and more engaging. This French language review has covered the basics, helping you understand and describe the weather confidently. Keep practising these phrases, and soon discussing the weather in French will become second nature. Bonne chance !

Interested in advancing your French and learning how to book a hotel? Check out our article designed to help you make hotel reservations in French.