WEATHER - FRENCH VOCABULARY TESTING GUIDE
56 cards | 14 sub-topics | all 4 skills tested
INTRODUCTION
This French vocabulary section deals mainly with the weather and the seasons.
After living in the ruthlessly cold state of Minnesota for over a decade, I can assure you that my conversation topic of choice when out of ideas is, guess what, the weather.
Believe me, it shouldn't take you any effort to start a conversation with a total stranger at the bus stop in Minnesota. If you're a *shy* dude like me, just start talking about the cold weather if you want to break the ice (no pun intended). And truth be told, after you find yourself digging your car out of a couple of feet of snow [early in the morning in sub-temperature] all you'll want to complain about to someone, anyone, is the snow and the cold weather!
But maybe I'm exaggerating a little. I should stop ditching snow, sorry, dirt, I meant to say "stop ditching dirt", on Minnesota. I've had the greatest time in this beautiful state (in spite of, ahem, the rough winters) - Both my children born there clearly attest to this fact :-)
OK, now, let's study the French words and expressions relating to the weather and seasons.
1. HOW TO START A WEATHER CONVERSATION
1.1 Common weather questions
FRENCH
ENGLISH
SENTENCE EXAMPLES TO PRACTICE
1. quel temps fait-il?
What's the weather like? / How's the weather?
Quel temps fait-il à Moscou aujourd'hui?/ What's the weather like in Moscow today?
2. quelle est la météo?
What's the (weather) forecast?
Quelle est la météo pour demain?/ What is the forecast for tomorrow?
1.2 The 3 weather sentence structures with *il...*
The sole purpose of the next two sections is to teach you the most typical sentence structures to use when describing any weather condition. Therefore, you do not need to study the weather condition itself. Just familiarize yourself with the following French weather phrases. Later on, I will provide more detailed French expressions you can use to talk about the weather.
FRENCH
ENGLISH
SENTENCE EXAMPLES TO PRACTICE
3. il fait...(chaud/froid/frais/beau, etc)
It is... (+ weather condition)
Il fait froid ce matin./ It is cold this morning.
4. il y a (du soleil/ de la neige, du brouillard, etc)
It is... (+ weather condition) / There is (+ weather element)
Il y a de la neige au sol ce matin./ There is snow on the ground this morning.
5. il (+ verb)
it is... (+ verb)
il pleut tous les jours./ It is raining every day.
1.3 Describing the weather with adjectives
FRENCH
ENGLISH
SENTENCE EXAMPLES TO PRACTICE
6. le temps est...
The weather (or It) is...
Le temps est ensoleillé./ The weather is sunny.
1.4 The prepositions to use with the seasons
Use the French prepositions en and au to talk about the seasons. Other than that, use the definite article (le) or (l') [Summer is hot --> l'été est chaud].
FRENCH
ENGLISH
SENTENCE EXAMPLES TO PRACTICE
7. en été
In summer...
En été, il fait chaud./ It is hot in summer.
8. en automne
In fall (automn)...
En automne, les feuilles tombent des arbres./ In fall, leaves fall from trees.
9. en hiver
In winter...
En hiver, il neige./ It snows in winter.
10. au printemps
In spring...
Au printemps, il pleut beaucoup./ It rains a lot in spring.
2. WEATHER VOCABULARY
2.1 Temperature-related words
FRENCH
ENGLISH
SENTENCE EXAMPLES TO PRACTICE
11. la chaleur
Heat
Le bébé ne supporte pas la chaleur./ The baby can't stand the heat.
12. le froid
Cold (noun)
Le froid en hiver est difficile à supporter. / In winter, the cold is hard to bear.
13. la fraicheur
Coolness
Je profite de la fraicheur du matin./ I enjoy the coolness of the morning.
14. glacial
Freezing
Je ne sortirai pas dans ce froid glacial./ I will not go out in this freezing cold.
2.2 Rain-related words
FRENCH
ENGLISH
SENTENCE EXAMPLES TO PRACTICE
15. la bruine
Drizzle
La bruine et le brouillard rendent la conduite dangereuse./ Drizzle and fog make driving hazardous.
16. l'inondation (f)
Flood
Les grosses précipitations ont causé une inondation./ The heavy rainfall caused a flood.
17.
la pluie
Rain
J'aime entendre la pluie tomber./ I like to hear the rain fall down.
18.
la pluie torrentielle
Downpour
On a arrêté le concert à cause de pluie torrentielle./ The concert was stopped due to the downpour.
19.
des averses (f.pl)
Showers
Des averses sont attendues pour lundi./ Showers are expected for Monday.
20.
humide
Damp
L'herbe est souvent humide le matin./ The grass is often damp in the morning.
2.3 Cold-related words
FRENCH
ENGLISH
SENTENCE EXAMPLES TO PRACTICE
21.
le givre
Frost
Ma fenêtre est couverte de givre./ My window is covered with frost.
22.
le flocon de neige
Snowflake
Je vois des flocons de neige dans le ciel./ I can see snowflakes in the sky.
23.
le blizzard
Blizzard
J'annulerai la randonnée à cause du blizzard./ I will cancel the hiking activity because of the blizzard.
24.
la neige fondue
Sleet
La neige fondue ralentit la circulation./ The sleet slows down traffic.
25.
la grêle
Hail
La grêle peut endommager les voitures./ Hail can damage cars.
26.
la neige
Snow
Une forte tombée de neige./ A heavy snowfall.
2.4 Cloud-related words
FRENCH
ENGLISH
SENTENCE EXAMPLES TO PRACTICE
27.
le nuage
Cloud
Les nuages cachent le soleil./ Clouds are hiding the sun.
28.
la clarté du ciel
Clear sky
La clarté du ciel ce matin est éblouissante./ The clear sky this morning is dazzling.
29.
maussade; sombre
Gloomy
Un temps maussade./ A gloomy weather.
30.
le brouillard
Fog
On n'y voit rien dans cet épais brouillard./ You can't see a thing in this thick fog.
31.
la brume
Haze
Il y a une brume épaisse sur la ville./ There is a thick haze over the city..
2.5 Wind-related words
FRENCH
ENGLISH
SENTENCE EXAMPLES TO PRACTICE
32.
le vent
Wind
Le vent souffle fort./ The wind is strong.
33.
la brise
Breeze
Je sens la douce brise sur le visage./ I can feel the gentle breeze on my face.
34.
la rafale de vent
A gust of wind
Une rafale de vent a emporté mon chapeau./ A gust of wind blew my hat away.
35.
la tornade
Tornado; Twister; Whirldwind
La tornade a déraciné plusieurs arbres./ The tornado uprooted several trees.
36.
l'ouragan
Hurricane
L'ouragan Katrina a laissé de mauvais souvenirs./ Hurricane Katrina left some bad memories.
37.
le cyclone
Cyclone
Les cyclones sont assez rares dans cette région./ Cyclones are quite scarce in this region.
38.
le typhon
Typhoon
Les typhons causent des dégâts immenses./ Typhoons cause enormous damages.
3. MOST-USED FRENCH WEATHER EXPRESSIONS BY TYPES
3.1 Type No1: [il fait...]
FRENCH
ENGLISH
SENTENCE EXAMPLES TO PRACTICE
39.
il fait (très) chaud
It's (very) hot
Il fait chaud en été./ It's hot in summer.
40.
il fait (très) froid
It's (very) cold
Il fait froid en hiver./ It's cold in winter.
41.
il fait beau
It's nice out; The weather is nice
Il fait beau aujourd'hui./ It's nice out today.
42.
il fait un temps splendide
The weather is gorgeous
Il fait un temps splendide ce soir./ She broke her arm during practice.
43.
il fait mauvais
The weather is bad
Il a fait mauvais toute la journée./ The weather has been bad all day.
44.
il fait moche
The weather is bad
Il fait moche cette semaine./ The weather is bad this week.
45.
il fait un temps maussade
The weather is gloomy
Dehors, il fait un temps maussade: il pleut./ The weather is gloomy outside: it's raining.
46.
il fait du vent
It is windy
Il a fait du vent toute la nuit./ It was windy all night.
47.
il fait (du) soleil
It is sunny
Il fait toujours du soleil dans mon beau pays./ It is always sunny in my beautiful country.
3.2 Type No2: [il y a...]
FRENCH
ENGLISH
SENTENCE EXAMPLES TO PRACTICE
48. il y a du brouillard
It is foggy
Je conduis prudemment quand il y a du brouillard l matin./ I cut my fingernails every week.
49. Il y a du vent
it is windy
La promenade avec les enfants est annulée parce qu'il il y a du vent./The children's walk has been canceled because it is windy.
50. il y a du soleil
It is sunny
Je mets un chapeau quand il y a du soleil./ I put on a hat when it is sunny.
51. il y a un orage
There is a storm
il y a des orages fréquents dans cette région./ There are frequent storms in this region.
52. il y a des éclairs
There's lightning
Mon petit frère a peur quand il y a des éclairs./ My little brother is scared when there is lightning.
53. il y a du tonnerre
There is thunder
Je me couvre les oreilles quand Il y a du tonnerre/ I cover my ears when there is thunder.
3.3 Type No3: [il + verb]
FRENCH
ENGLISH
SENTENCE EXAMPLES TO PRACTICE
54. il neige
It is snowing
Il met ses bottes de neige quand il neige./ He puts on his snow boots when it snows.
55. il pleut
It is raining
Je suis certain qu'il pleuvra demain./ I am certain it will rain tomorrow.
56. il grêle
It is hailing
Je range ma voiture au garage quand il grêle./ I park my car away in the garage when it hails.
3.4 Type No4: [le temps est + adjective]
FRENCH
ENGLISH
SENTENCE EXAMPLES TO PRACTICE
57. le temps est orageux
The weather/It is stormy
Le temps sera orageux demain./ It will be cloudy on tomorrow.
58. le temps est nuageux
The weather/It is cloudy
Le temps sera nuageux demain./ It will be cloudy on tomorrow.
59. le temps est pluvieux
The weather/It is rainy
Je reste chez moi quand le temps est pluvieux./ I stay home when the weather is rainy.
60. le temps est couvert
The weather/It is overcast
Le temps est couvert et frais./ The weather is overcast and cool.
61. le temps est ensoleillé
The weather/It is sunny
le temps est ensoleillé et clair./ The weather is sunny and clear.
4. WEATHER-RELATED FRENCH IDIOMS AND EXPRESSIONS
FRENCH
ENGLISH
SENTENCE EXAMPLES TO PRACTICE
62. faire un froid de canard
(Said about a freezing weather)
Il fait un froid de canard./ It is freezing.
63. pleuvoir des cordes
Raining cats and dogs (a lot)
Il pleut des cordes./ It's raining cats and dogs.
64. faire un temps de chien
(Said about an awful weather)
Il fait un temps de chien./ The weather is terrible.
65. Cailler
(Said about a bitter cold)
Ca caille!/ It's bitterly cold.
66. être trempé jusqu'aux os
Said when completely soaked
Je suis trempé jusqu'aux os./ I am soaked to the bones.
I hope this French weather word list was as helpful as we intended it to be for you. Leave us some comments or questions below. We love reading and answering them.
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