Weather in Chinese 天气
tiānqì
Weather in Chinese is 天气 (tiān qì).
Also searched for as: weather, rain, sunny, hot cold.
What's it like outside? 15 essential weather words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
The word for weather in Chinese is 天气 (tiān qì), literally 'sky air', and talking about it is as natural an opener in Chinese as it is in English. With 下雨 (xià yǔ), to rain, 冷 (lěng), cold, 热 (rè), hot, and the 天气预报 (tiān qì yù bào), the forecast, you can already describe most days, and the rest of the list adds overcast skies, fog, wind and temperatures.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 天气 | tiān qì | weather |
| 晴 | qíng | sunny |
| 阴 | yīn | cloudy; overcast |
| 多云 | duō yún | cloudy |
| 下雨 | xià yǔ | to rain |
| 下雪 | xià xuě | to snow |
| 刮风 | guā fēng | windy |
| 雾 | wù | fog |
| 冷 | lěng | cold |
| 热 | rè | hot |
| 暖和 | nuǎn huo | warm |
| 凉快 | liáng kuai | cool |
| 温度 | wēn dù | temperature |
| 度 | dù | degree |
| 天气预报 | tiān qì yù bào | weather forecast |
Usage tips
- Weather that falls from the sky takes the verb 下 (xià): 下雨 (xià yǔ), 下雪 (xià xuě). Wind takes 刮 (guā), as in 刮风 (guā fēng).
- Temperatures are in Celsius and use 度 (dù): 二十度 (èr shí dù) is twenty degrees, and 零下五度 (líng xià wǔ dù) is minus five.
- 暖和 (nuǎn huo) and 凉快 (liáng kuai) are pleasant, like 'nice and warm' and 'nice and cool', while 冷 and 热 often suggest it's uncomfortable.
Common mistakes
- Adding 是 before an adjective, as in 今天是很冷 → adjectives don't need 是: 今天很冷 (jīn tiān hěn lěng).
- Using 雨 or 雪 on their own as verbs, as in 今天雨 → add 下: 今天下雨 (jīn tiān xià yǔ).
Mini dialogue
- A明天天气怎么样？Míng tiān tiān qì zěn me yàng?What's the weather like tomorrow?
- B天气预报说明天多云，下午可能下雨。Tiān qì yù bào shuō míng tiān duō yún, xià wǔ kě néng xià yǔ.The forecast says it'll be cloudy, and it might rain in the afternoon.
- A冷不冷？Lěng bu lěng?Is it going to be cold?
- B不太冷，最高十五度，不过你最好带把伞。Bù tài lěng, zuì gāo shí wǔ dù, bù guò nǐ zuì hǎo dài bǎ sǎn.Not too cold, a high of fifteen, but you'd better take an umbrella.
Example sentences
- 今天天气很好，我们去公园吧。The weather is lovely today, let's go to the park.
- 明天是晴天，不会下雨。It'll be sunny tomorrow, so it won't rain.
- 今天天阴了，可能要下雨。It's turned overcast today; it might rain.
- 上午多云，下午会出太阳。It's cloudy this morning, but the sun will come out this afternoon.
- 外面下雨了，别忘了带伞。It's raining outside, don't forget your umbrella.
- 北京昨天晚上下雪了。It snowed in Beijing last night.
- 今天刮风，你多穿点儿衣服。It's windy today, so wear a bit more.
- 早上雾很大，开车要小心。The fog is thick this morning, so drive carefully.
- 外面太冷了，快进来吧！It's freezing outside, come on in!
- 今天三十五度，热死了！It's thirty-five degrees today, it's boiling!
- 房间里很暖和，把外套脱了吧。It's nice and warm in the room, take your coat off.
- 晚上比白天凉快多了。The evenings are much cooler than the daytime.
- 今天的温度比昨天低。Today's temperature is lower than yesterday's.
- 明天最高气温二十度。Tomorrow's high will be twenty degrees.
- 天气预报说周末有雨。The weather forecast says it'll rain at the weekend.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Weather speaking island has 8 everyday questions about weather to prepare your own answers to.