Weather Words in Chinese: Vocabulary & Small Talk

Q: How do you say weather in Chinese?

Weather in Chinese is 天气 (tiānqì): 天 tiān = sky/day, 气 qì = air/qi, literally 'sky air'. The weather forecast is 天气预报 (tiānqì yùbào), and to ask about it you say 今天天气怎么样? (jīntiān tiānqì zěnmeyàng?, 'How's the weather today?').

Q: How do you ask about the weather in Chinese?

The most natural way is 今天天气怎么样? (jīntiān tiānqì zěnmeyàng?) — 'How's the weather today?'. You can swap the time word: 明天天气怎么样? for tomorrow. To ask the temperature, say 今天多少度? (jīntiān duōshao dù?, 'How many degrees is it today?'), and to check outside, 外面冷吗? (wàimiàn lěng ma?, 'Is it cold outside?').

Q: How do you say it's raining in Chinese?

To rain is 下雨 (xià yǔ), literally 'fall rain' — 下 (xià, to fall/come down) plus 雨 (yǔ, rain). 'It's raining (right now)' is 正在下雨 (zhèngzài xià yǔ) or simply 下雨了 (xià yǔ le). The same 下 pattern gives 下雪 (xià xuě, to snow). Windy is 刮风 (guā fēng, 'blow wind').

Q: How do you say hot and cold in Chinese?

Hot is 热 (rè) and cold is 冷 (lěng). Weather adjectives usually take 很 (hěn, 'very') before them even without emphasis: 今天很热 (jīntiān hěn rè, 'it's hot today'), 今天很冷 (jīntiān hěn lěng, 'it's cold today'). Warm is 暖和 (nuǎnhuo) and cool is 凉快 (liángkuai).

Q: What are the four seasons in Chinese?

The four seasons are 春天 (chūntiān, spring), 夏天 (xiàtiān, summer), 秋天 (qiūtiān, autumn/fall), and 冬天 (dōngtiān, winter). Each ends in 天 (tiān, 'day/season'). The word for season itself is 季节 (jìjié).

Quick answer: Weather in Chinese is 天气 (tiānqì, “sky air”). Ask 今天天气怎么样？ (jīntiān tiānqì zěnmeyàng?, “How's the weather today?”) and answer with an adjective plus 很: 今天很热 (jīntiān hěn rè, “it's hot today”). To rain is 下雨 (xià yǔ, “fall rain”). Tap to hear each word.

天气 (tiānqì) — Word by Word

Character	Pinyin	Tone	Meaning
天	tiān	1st (high, flat)	sky / day
气	qì	4th (sharp fall)	air / qi
天气	tiānqì	1 – 4	weather

Weather Small Talk — Ask & Answer

Weather is the safest small talk in any language. These are the lines you'll actually use:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
今天天气怎么样？	jīntiān tiānqì zěnmeyàng?	How's the weather today?
今天天气很好。	jīntiān tiānqì hěn hǎo.	The weather's nice today.
今天很热。	jīntiān hěn rè.	It's hot today.
外面冷吗？	wàimiàn lěng ma?	Is it cold outside?
好像要下雨了。	hǎoxiàng yào xià yǔ le.	Looks like it's going to rain.
记得带伞。	jìde dài sǎn.	Remember to bring an umbrella.
今天多少度？	jīntiān duōshao dù?	What's the temperature today?
天气越来越冷了。	tiānqì yuèláiyuè lěng le.	It's getting colder and colder.

Weather Adjectives

These describe how it feels. In Chinese a plain adjective usually needs 很 (hěn) in front, even when you don't mean “very”: 今天很热.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
热	rè	hot
冷	lěng	cold
暖和	nuǎnhuo	warm
凉快	liángkuai	cool (pleasant)
闷热	mēnrè	muggy / stuffy hot
潮湿	cháoshī	humid / damp
干燥	gānzào	dry
晴朗	qínglǎng	clear / sunny

Weather Conditions & Phenomena

Notice the verb 下 (xià, “to fall”) drives precipitation, and 刮 (guā, “to blow”) drives wind:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
晴天	qíngtiān	sunny day
阴天	yīntiān	overcast / cloudy day
多云	duōyún	cloudy
下雨	xià yǔ	to rain
下雪	xià xuě	to snow
刮风	guā fēng	to be windy
雾	wù	fog
雷	léi	thunder
闪电	shǎndiàn	lightning
彩虹	cǎihóng	rainbow
冰雹	bīngbáo	hail
台风	táifēng	typhoon
暴风雨	bàofēngyǔ	storm
太阳	tàiyáng	sun

The Four Seasons (季节)

Chinese	Pinyin	English
春天	chūntiān	spring
夏天	xiàtiān	summer
秋天	qiūtiān	autumn / fall
冬天	dōngtiān	winter

Temperature & the Forecast

Temperature is 温度 (wēndù) or 气温 (qìwēn); degrees are counted with 度 (dù) — 二十度 (èrshí dù, 20°). China uses Celsius (摄氏度, shèshìdù). The forecast is 天气预报 (tiānqì yùbào). Try: 明天最高气温三十度 (míngtiān zuìgāo qìwēn sānshí dù) — “tomorrow's high is 30 degrees.”

Chinese	Pinyin	English
温度	wēndù	temperature
度	dù	degree(s)
天气预报	tiānqì yùbào	weather forecast
零度	líng dù	zero degrees
零下五度	língxià wǔ dù	minus 5 degrees

Usage tip: weather is a natural Chinese ice-breaker. Open with 今天天气怎么样？, answer with 很 + adjective (今天很热 / 很冷 / 很潮湿), and remember the “fall” verb: 下雨 = rain, 下雪 = snow, while wind “blows,” 刮风.

Hear every word in the Interactive Pinyin Chart, and build your own weather sentences in our English to Chinese Translator. Learn the calendar words that go with them in Days, Months & Time in Chinese.

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