How to Discuss the Weather in Chinese: 27 Words and Phrases to Break the Ice
One way to break the ice with a Chinese speaker is to ask about the 天气 (tiān qì) — weather.
Many Mandarin-speaking cultures see weather talk exactly the same way Westerners do—it’s a culturally appropriate, polite way to greet a new person and open a conversation.
If you’re not confident enough to break out a joke, why not open a social situation with a simple comment about the weather?
Here are 27 Chinese weather words and phrases to help you start (and continue!) a conversation.
Contents
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Chinese Weather Vocabulary Words
| Weather Word | Sentence Example |
|---|---|
| 热 (rè) hot | 今天很热。 (jīn tiān hěn rè.) It is very hot today. |
| 温暖 (wēn nuǎn) warm | 你享受这温暖的天气吗？ (nǐ xiǎng shòu zhè wēn nuǎn de tiān qì ma?) Are you enjoying this warm day? |
| 凉快 (liáng kuai) cool and pleasant | 天气凉快。 (tiān qì liáng kuai.) The weather is cool and pleasant. |
| 冷 (lěng) cold | 今天天气很冷。 (jīn tiān tiān qì hěn lěng.) Today, the weather is cold. |
| 温度 (wēn dù) temperature | 现在的温度是多少？ (xiàn zài de wēn dù shì duō shǎo?) What is the temperature right now? |
| 华氏度 (huá shì dù) degrees Fahrenheit | 美国人使用华氏度。 (měi guó rén shǐ yòng huá shì dù.) Americans use degrees Fahrenheit. |
| 摄氏度 (shè shì dù) degrees Celsius | 大多数国家使用摄氏度。 (dà duō shù guó jiā shǐ yòng shè shì dù.) Most countries use degrees Celsius. |
| 晴朗 (qíng lǎng) sunny | 昨天的天气晴朗。 (zuó tiān de tiān qì qíng lǎng.) It was sunny yesterday. |
| 多云 (duō yún) cloudy | 今天天气预报多云。 (jīn tiān tiān qì yù bào duō yún.) Today’s weather forecast is cloudy. |
| 雨 (yǔ) rain/rainy | 下雨了。 (xià yǔ le.) It is raining. |
| 风 (fēng) wind/windy | 今天早上有风。 (jīn tiān zǎo shang yǒu fēng.) It is windy this morning. |
| 雪 (xuě) snow/snowy | 看看雪！ (kàn kàn xuě!) Look at the snow! |
| 雾 (wù) fog/foggy | 在这雾中我看不见。 (zài zhè wù zhōng wǒ kàn bú jiàn.) I can’t see in this fog. |
| 台风 (tái fēng) typhoon | 这个周末会有台风。 (zhè ge zhōu mò huì yǒu tái fēng.) There will be a typhoon this weekend. |
| 潮湿 (cháo shī) humid/damp | 最近空气很潮湿。 (zuį jìn kōng qì hěn cháo shī.) The air is very humid these days. |
| 干 (gān) dry | 今天空气很干燥。 (jīn tiān kōng qì hěn gān zào.) The air is dry today. |
| 季节 (jì jié) season | 一年有四个季节。 (yì nián yǒu sì gè jì jié.) There are four seasons in a year. |
| 冬天 (dōng tiān) winter | 这是一个寒冷的冬天。 (zhè shì yī gè hán lěng de dōng tiān.) This is one cold winter. |
| 春天 (chūn tiān) spring | 春天是最美的季节！ (chūn tiān shì zuì měi de jì jié!) Spring is the most beautiful season! |
| 夏天 (xià tiān) summer | 我爱夏天。 (wǒ ài xià tiān.) I love summer. |
| 秋天 (qiū tiān) fall | 秋天是我最喜欢的季节。 (qiū tiān shì wǒ zuì xǐ huān de jì jié.) Fall is my favorite season. |
Chinese Weather Phrases and Questions
今天的天气预报怎么样？
Pinyin: jīn tiān de tiān qì yù bào zěn me yàng?
English: What’s the weather forecast today?
This is by far the best opener when talking about the weather. Quick, simple, clear and to the point!
Before jumping into asking about the weather, you could start with 你好吗？(nǐ hǎo ma) — “What’s up?” or 早上好！(zǎo shang hǎo!) — “Good morning!”
An expansion of this phrase would be:
这个星期的天气预报怎么样？(zhè ge xīng qī de tiān qì yù bào zěn me yàng?) — What’s the weather forecast for this week?
Location + 的天气怎么样？
Pinyin: [location] + de tiān qì zěn me yàng?
English: What’s the weather like in [location]?
Planning a trip? It’s best to figure out the time of year you’ll be there first. Then, learn the Mandarin pronunciation of the location you’ll be visiting, such as 北京 (běi jīng) — Beijing or 台北 (tái běi) — Taipei, and say the name at the start of this phrase.
In response, you may hear something like:
最近，北京很冷。(zuì jìn, běi jīng hěn lěng.) — Recently, Beijing has been quite cold.
台北常常下雨。(tái běi cháng cháng xià yǔ.) — It rains often in Taipei.
今天天气 + weather condition
Pinyin: jīn tiān tiān qì + [weather condition]
English: Today, the weather is [weather condition]
You can use this phrase as a conversation opener, or you may hear it in response to one of the questions above.
The end of the sentence can be filled in with one or more of the vocabulary words above, or you can use one of these simple, straightforward phrases:
今天天气很好。(jīn tiān tiān qì hěn hǎo.) — Today, the weather is good.
今天天气不好。(jīn tiān tiān qì bù hǎo.) — Today, the weather is bad.
今天多少度？
Pinyin: jīn tiān duō shǎo dù?
English: What’s the temperature today?
You may get an estimate or more specific response, as shown below:
今天10度(左右)。(jīn tiān 10 dù [zuǒ yòu].) — Today it’s 10 degrees (give or take).
现在32摄氏度。(xiàn zài 32 shè shì dù.) — Right now it’s 32 degrees Celsius.
阳光明媚。
Pinyin: yáng guāng míng mèi.
English: The sun shines brightly.
This is a common Chinese idiom used to describe a particularly sunny or beautiful day.
Saying 那里很温暖 (nà lǐ hěn wēn nuǎn) — “It is warm there” simply won’t do!
Learning the weather in Chinese is pretty simple, isn’t it? You can use these Chinese weather words to open up many new conversations, or learn them by hearing them in context on the FluentU program. FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons. You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app. P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)
Review your new weather terms and phrases, and then go break the ice with a Mandarin-speaking friend!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
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