Weather in Russian: 80+ Words and Expressions
As a Russian student, learning weather words is essential to a well-rounded vocabulary. You might even already know a few basic Russian words that are related to the weather, but knowing more is valuable for much more than just small talk. It can help you plan your day, figure out your outfit, stay safe and more.
Take a look at this guide to learn words and phrases to talk about the weather and get example sentences, idioms and practice resources.
Contents
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
How To Talk About Weather in Russian
Common Weather-related Phrases in Russian
| Russian | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| Как погода? | Kak pogoda? | How's the weather? |
| Какая сегодня погода? | Kakaya segodnya pogoda? | What's the weather like today? |
| Какой на завтра прогноз погоды? | Kakoy na zavtra prognoz pogody? | What's the forecast for tomorrow? |
| Идёт... | Idot | It's... (Literally: "goes" or "is going," used for rain or snow) |
| Будет... | Budet | It’s going to be... |
| Сколько градусов сейчас? | Skol'ko gradusov seychas? | What is the current temperature? |
| На улице... | Na ulitse | Outside it's... (Literally: "on the street") |
| На улице минус | Na ulitse minus | The temperature is lower than 0 °C outside |
| На улице плюс | Na ulitse plyus | The temperature is higher than 0 °C outside |
| На улице ноль | Na ulitse nol | The temperature is 0 °C outside |
| Будет ли дождь? | Budet li dozhd'? | Is it going to rain? |
| Снег идёт | Sneg idet | It's snowing |
| Дует ветер | Duet veter | The wind is blowing |
| Холодно на улице | Holodno na ulitse | It's cold outside |
| Безоблачное небо | Bezoblachnoe nebo | Clear sky |
| На улице переменная облачность | Na ulitse peremennaya oblachnost' | Partly cloudy outside |
Russian Words for Describing the Temperature
While in English you generally describe the weather by using supporting words like “it’s,” in Russian, you can simply say most words related to temperature and air quality on their own.
Note that the words below are in adverbial form, not adjectival form—adjectives cannot be used standalone.
However, if you do use them as an adjective to describe a noun, you’ll need to make sure they match the gender of that noun.
| Russian | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| Жарко | Zarko | Hot |
| Тепло | Teplo | Warm |
| Хорошо | Horosho | Good, as in nice or pleasant |
| Холодно | Holodno | Cold |
| Сухо | Suho | Dry |
| Влажно | Vlazno | Humid |
| Душно | Dushno | Stuffy |
| Свежо | Svezo | Fresh/crisp |
| Зябко | Zjabko | Chilly |
| Морозно | Morozno | Frosty |
| Прохладно | Prohladno | Cool |
Russian Words for the Current Weather
| Russian | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ясно | Jasno | Clear |
| Солнечно | Solnechno | Sunny |
| Солнце | Solnce | Sun |
| Пасмурно | Pasmurno | Overcast |
| Oблачно | Oblachno | Cloudy |
| Облако | Oblako | Cloud |
| Ветрено | Vetreno | Windy |
| Ветер | Veter | Wind |
| Туманно | Tumanno | Foggy |
| Туман | Tuman | Fog |
| Дождливо | Dozdlivo | Rainy |
| Дождь | Dozd | Rain |
| Гром | Grom | Thunder |
| Град | Grad | Hail |
| Мороз | Moroz | Frost |
| Снежно | Snezhno | Snowy |
| Снег | Sneg | Snow |
| Радуга | Raduga | Rainbow |
Russian Words for Weather Events
| Russian | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| Гроза | Groza | Thunderstorm |
| Метель | Metel | Blizzard |
| Ураган | Uragan | Hurricane |
| Торнадо | Tornado | Tornado |
| Засуха | Zasuha | Drought |
| Наводнение | Navodnenie | Flood |
| Тайфун | Tajfun | Typhoon |
| Цунами | Tsunami | Tsunami |
| Идет дождь | Idyot dozhd | It’s raining |
| Идет снег | Idyot sneg | It’s snowing |
| На небе радуга | Na nebe raduga | There is a rainbow in the sky |
Example Sentences with Russian Weather Words
| Russian | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| Слишком жарко, чтобы выходить на улицу | Slishkom zharko, chtoby vykhodit' na ulitsu | It’s too hot to go outside |
| Сухо как в пустыне | Sukho kak v pustyne | It’s so dry like a desert |
| Влажно как в бане | Vlazhno kak v bane | It’s humid like in a bathhouse |
| Здесь слишком душно. Надо открыть окно | Zdes' slishkom dushno. Nado otkryt' okno | It’s too stuffy in here. We have to open the window |
| Зябко! Давай вернёмся внутрь | Zyabko! Davay vernomsya vnutr' | It’s chilly! Let’s go back inside |
| Вечером стало прохладно | Vecherom stalo prokhladno | It became cool in the evening |
| Ясный день идеально подходит для прогулки | Yasnyy den' ideal'no podkhodit dlya progulki | A clear day is perfect for a walk |
| Зима закончилась, и наконец-то солнечно! | Zima zakonchilas', i nakonets-to solnechno! | Winter is over, and it’s finally sunny! |
| Когда сегодня выйдет солнце? | Kogda segodnya vyydet solntse? | When will the sun come out today? |
| Я люблю спать в пасмурные дни | Ya lyublyu spat' v pasmurnyye dni | I like to sleep on cloudy days |
| Так туманно, что я едва вижу свою руку | Tak tumanno, chto ya yedva vizhu svoyu ruku | It’s so foggy, I can hardly see my own hand |
| Вы слышали гром? | Vy slyshali grom? | Did you hear thunder? |
| Город сегодня снежный | Gorod segodnya snezhnyy | The city is snowy today |
| Если продолжится дождь, будет наводнение | Yesli prodolzhitsya dozhd', budet navodneniye | If it keeps raining, there will be a flood |
Russian Idioms and Expressions About the Weather
There are many expressions that Russians have about the weather. Not surprisingly, many of them are about the cold! Here are just a few.
| Russian | Romanization | English | Literal meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Как снег на голову | Kak sneg na golovu | Out of the blue. | Like snow on the head. It usually refers to a surprise that is not welcome and is used informally. |
| Жар костей не ломит | Zhar kostey ne lomit | Bone fever not ache. | Heat doesn't break bones. |
| Льёт как из ведра | L'yot kak iz vedra | It's raining cats and dogs. | It's pouring like out of a bucket. |
| Зуб на зуб не попадает | Zub na zub ne popadayet | Teeth chattering. | Tooth is not landing on tooth. |
| Ветер в голове | Veter v golove | Absentminded, frivolous. | Wind in the head. |
| Ждать у моря погоды | Zhdat' u morya pogody | To passively wait for a situation to improve. | To wait for the weather by the sea. |
Examples:
Так холодно, что зуб на зуб не попадает.
(It’s so cold that my teeth are chattering.)
Oн никогда не станет серьезно относиться к работе. У него ветер в голове.
(He’ll never get serious about working. He has wind in the head.)
Этого никогда не произойдет. Она ждет у моря погоды.
(It’s never going to happen. She’s waiting for the weather by the sea.)
You can also practice Russian weather words with this video:
How To Practice Russian Weather Words
- Read Russian weather forecasts: Even if you don’t have plans to visit Russia anytime soon, reading Russian weather forecasts can help reinforce your weather vocabulary. Gismeteo has plenty of news, including weather forecasts and information on wind, temperature, precipitation and more. More advanced students can also read long-form articles about the weather through Российская Газета (Russian Newspaper).
- Learn through authentic content: You could also use a language learning program such as FluentU.
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.)
- Download Russian weather apps: The Weather for Russia app, available for iOS and Android, makes it easy to check. You’ll also get the added benefit of reinforcing some of the most common weather-related words. If you’re in the US, the app will probably be in English when you first download it, but just go into settings to change the language to Russian.
With these Russian weather words and phrases, you’ll be ready to talk about whatever Mother Nature throws your way—or at least know how to break that conservation standstill!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
If you love learning Russian and want to immerse yourself with authentic materials from Russia, then I should also tell you more about FluentU.
FluentU naturally and gradually eases you into learning the Russian language and culture. You'll learn real Russian as it's spoken by real Russian people!
FluentU has a very broad range of contemporary videos. Just a quick look will give you an idea of the variety of Russian-language content available on FluentU:
FluentU makes these native Russian videos approachable through interactive transcripts. Tap on any word to look it up instantly.
Access a complete interactive transcript of every video under the Dialogue tab. Easily review words and phrases with audio under Vocab.
All definitions have multiple examples, and they're written for Russian learners like you. Tap to add words you'd like to review to a vocab list.
And FluentU has a learn mode which turns every video into a language learning lesson. You can always swipe left or right to see more examples.
The best part? FluentU keeps track of your vocabulary, and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It'll even remind you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You'll have a 100% personalized experience.
Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)
And One More Thing...
185 Basic Russian Vocabulary Words and Phrases
Word frequency lists can be a great resource for Russian language learners. But there’s a caveat: most word frequency lists…
