Talk About the Weather in English: Basic Vocabulary for Beginners

Let’s Learn English: Talking About the Weather!

Hello! It’s great to see you again! Today, let’s learn how to talk about something people discuss every day: the weather. Is it sunny outside? Is it cold? Knowing how to talk about the weather is useful for small talk (simple conversation with people) and for planning your day (what clothes to wear, what activities to do). We will learn some basic weather words and easy sentences. Don’t worry, it will be simple and fun. You’re doing a great job learning English step by step!

Basic Weather Words

Let’s learn some common words to describe the weather. Look outside your window now. How is the weather?

1. Sunny: When the sun is shining brightly and there are few or no clouds.
   • Example: “It’s a sunny day today. Let’s go to the park!”
   • Real life: On sunny days, you might wear sunglasses.
   • Practice: Imagine the bright sun. Say: “Sunny.” Wonderful!
2. Cloudy: When there are many clouds in the sky. The sun might be hidden.
   • Example: “It’s cloudy today. It might rain later.”
   • Real life: Cloudy days can be grey.
   • Practice: Look up at pretend clouds. Say: “Cloudy.” Good!
3. Rainy: When water is falling from the clouds.
   • Example: “Don’t forget your umbrella! It’s rainy outside.”
   • Real life: You need an umbrella or raincoat on rainy days.
   • Practice: Make a sound like rain: pitter-patter. Say: “Rainy.” Excellent!
4. Windy: When the air is moving strongly. You can feel the wind.
   • Example: “It’s very windy today. My hat flew off!”
   • Real life: On windy days, trees might move a lot.
   • Practice: Blow out air like the wind. Whoosh! Say: “Windy.” Great job!
5. Snowy: When white, soft, cold flakes (snow) fall from the sky. This happens when it’s very cold.
   • Example: “Children love to play outside when it’s snowy.”
   • Real life: Snow covers the ground in white. You need warm clothes. (This might be rare where you live!
   • Practice: Imagine catching snowflakes. Say: “Snowy.” Brrr!

Words for Temperature (How Hot or Cold It Is

Besides what we see (sun, clouds, rain), we also talk about how the weather feels.

1. Hot: When the temperature is very high. Like summer days.
   • Example: “It’s too hot today. I need air conditioning!”
   • Real life: On hot days, people wear light clothes like t-shirts and shorts.
   • Practice: Fan yourself like you’re hot. Say: “Hot.” Phew!
2. Cold: When the temperature is very low. Like winter days.
   • Example: “Wear your coat! It’s cold outside.”
   • Real life: On cold days, you need warm clothes like sweaters, coats, hats, and gloves.
   • Practice: Shiver like you’re cold. Say: “Cold.” Brrr again!
3. Warm: Nicely hot, comfortable. Not too hot, not too cold.
   • Example: “It’s a warm spring day.”
   • Real life: Warm weather is often pleasant. You might wear a light jacket or just a shirt.
   • Practice: Feel the comfortable warmth. Say: “Warm.” Nice!
4. Cool: A little bit cold, but not very cold. Often nice weather.
   • Example: “It gets cool in the evening.”
   • Real life: On cool days, you might want a light sweater or jacket.
   • Practice: Feel a refreshing coolness. Say: “Cool.” Good!

So many useful words: Sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy, snowy, hot, cold, warm, cool. You’re learning fast!

How to Ask and Talk About the Weather

Now, let’s use these words in sentences.

• The main question: “What’s the weather like today?” (What’s = What is
  • This is the most common way to ask about the weather.
• How to answer: Use “It is…” or “It’s…” (It’s = It is) followed by the weather word.
  • “It’s sunny.“
  • “It’s cloudy.“
  • “It’s rainy.“
  • “It’s windy.“
  • “It’s snowy.“
  • “It’s hot.“
  • “It’s cold.“
  • “It’s warm.“
  • “It’s cool.“
• You can combine them! You can use more than one word.
  • “It’s sunny and warm.” (A beautiful day!
  • “It’s cloudy and cool.“
  • “It’s rainy and cold.” (Not a very nice day!
  • “It’s windy and cold.“
• You can also say: “The weather is…”
  • “The weather is hot today.”
  • “The weather is nice today.” (Nice = good weather, maybe sunny and warm
  • “The weather is bad today.” (Bad = not good, maybe rainy and cold

Let’s Practice Talking About Weather!

Ready to practice?

• How do you ask about the weather?
  • (Think: “What’s the weather like today?”) Yes!
• Look outside your window right now (or imagine). What’s the weather like?
  • Try to answer using “It’s…“
  • Maybe “It’s sunny.” or “It’s cloudy and warm.” or “It’s rainy.“
  • You did it! You described the weather!
• Imagine it’s very cold and water is falling from the sky. What’s the weather like?
  • (Think: rainy, cold) Say: “It’s rainy and cold.” Perfect!
• Imagine the sun is shining and it feels very nice, not too hot, not too cold. What’s the weather like?
  • (Think: sunny, warm) Say: “It’s sunny and warm.” Wonderful!

Talking about the weather is a great way to start a conversation in English. When you meet someone, you can say, “Hello! It’s a sunny day today, isn’t it?” or “Brrr, it’s cold today!”

Keep practicing these weather words. Listen to weather reports (even simple ones) or just look outside each day and try to describe the weather in English using “It’s…”. You learned so many useful words and phrases today. You are doing an amazing job with your English learning journey! Keep it up!