How To Talk About The Weather In French

Author
Written byAmélie Pinon

Talking about the weather is one of the best ways to spark up a conversation in French.

It's also something you'll use a LOT when talking with Parisians (since they love to complain about the weather!). 🙂 🌧️

How do you say 'weather' in French?

If you want to say 'weather' in French, there are two words you should know:

  1. météo
  2. temps

The word météo is feminine, so it's used with feminine articles (e.g. la météo).

Temps is masculine, so it uses the le article.

The difference between météo and temps

In French, both météo and temps refer to the weather, but they have important nuances.

Météo is a more technical term that refers to the science or study of weather, including forecasts. Think of the English word "meteorology".

Temps is the more general and informal term for weather (can also refer to time). This is the term you'll use to ask the average person what the weather is like.

If there's one word you learn in this lesson, focus on temps as you'll use it a lot in conversations.

Asking "how's the weather?" in French

Now that you know the difference between these two words, here's how you ask someone what the weather is like:

Comment est le temps ?

How is the weather?

Quel temps fait-il ?

Lit. What's the weather doing?

Weather vocabulary in French

Now you want to answer a person who asks you the same question. For this, you'll need vocabulary.

Here's a table of all the most common weather types in French.

FrenchEnglish
EnsoleilléSunny
NuageuxCloudy
PluvieuxRainy
OrageuxStormy
NeigeuxSnowy
BrumeuxFoggy
VentéWindy
ChaudHot
FroidCold
DouxMild
HumideHumid
SecDry
GlacialFreezing
FraisCool
TempêteTempest
CaniculeHeat wave
GelFrost
GeléeFreeze
AvalancheAvalanche
OuraganHurricane
TornadeTornado
ÉclairLightning
TonnerreThunder
GrêleHail

There are obviously more than this, but these are the most important ones.

Sample dialogues

Here are some important sample sentences to demonstrate asking for and sharing the weather in French.

Quel temps fait-il aujourd'hui?

What's the weather today?

Il fait beau.

It is nice.

The weather is bad.

Il fait mauvais.

Il fait chaud.

It is warm.

Il y a du vent.

It's windy.

Il pleut.

It's raining.

Il fait froid.

It is cold.

Il neige.

It's snowing.

Il fait soleil.

It is sunny.

Il fait couvert.

It is cloudy.

Il fait lourd.

It is close.

Il grele.

It is hailing.

Il gele.

It freezes.

Il degele.

It is thawing.

Il tonne.

It is thundering.

Il y a de l'orage.

There is a storm.

Il y a des eclairs.

There is lightning.

Quand le ciel est bleu, il fait du soleil-il fait beau temps.

When the sky is blue, it is sunny- the weather is nice.

Quand le ciel est gris, it est couvert de nuages-il fait mauvais temps.

When the sky is grey, it is covered with clouds - it is bad weather.

A Paris, il pleut quelquefois.

In Paris, it rains sometimes.

A Cote d'Azur, il pleu rarement; il fait generalement beau.

On the Cote d'Azur, it rarely rains; it is generally good weather.

We usually use faire (il fait, or past tense il faisait) for the weather. For example:

  • Il fait mauvais
  • Il fait chaud

However, to rain, to snow, to hail, to freeze, thaw and to thunder are verbs in their own right, and are used without faire.

Talking about seasons in French

FrenchEnglish
Le printempsSpring
L'étéSummer
L'automneFall / Autumn
L'hiverWinter

Robert, quelle saison aimez-vous le mieux?

Robert, which season do you like the best?

J'aime bien l'hiver quand il neige et on peut faire du ski.

I like the winter,when it snows and one can ski.

J'aime bien l'ete, parce qu'il y a de belles fleurs.

I like the summer when there are beautiful flowers.

Discussing meteorology (le meteo) in French

Here are a few more sample sentences to finish up:

Le matin, le soleil se leve. Le soir, le soleil se couche.

In the morning the sun rises. In the evening, the sun sets.

Le soleil se leve a l'est. Le soleil se couche a l'ouest.

The sun rises in the east. The sun sets in the west.

Pendant le jour, le soleil est dan le ciel.

During the day, the sun is in the sky.

Pendant la nuit le soleil n'est pas visible, mais nous pouvons voir la lune et les etoiles.

During the night, the sun is not visible, but we can see the moon and the stars.

En ete, le soleil se leve de bonne heure.

In summer, the sun rises early.

En hiver, le soleil se leve tard.

In winter, the sun rises late.
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How To Talk About The Weather In French
One of the easiest ways to start a conversation in French is to talk about the weather. Here's how to do it.
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