How to Talk About the Weather in French (A1-14)

Download the printable study sheet (PDF): Weather in French study sheet

Weather talk is the universal icebreaker, and France is no exception. At the boulangerie, in the elevator, waiting for a train — a simple il fait beau aujourd'hui ! is often the first full sentence a beginner gets to use with a real French person. The good news: talking about the weather in French runs on a tiny set of patterns. Master three structures — il fait..., il y a..., and a couple of weather verbs — and you can describe almost any sky you'll ever stand under.

This lesson gives you the core phrases with pronunciation hints, the grammar behind them (it's lighter than it looks), and the small-talk lines French people actually exchange every day.

The "il fait" structure: your weather workhorse

In English we say "it is cold." French prefers "it makes cold": il fait froid. The verb is faire (to make/to do), and for weather it always appears as il fait, no matter who is speaking or listening. That means zero conjugation work for you — learn the chunk once and swap the last word.

Real-life examples: Il fait beau ce matin, non ? (Nice weather this morning, right?) — Oui, mais il fait un peu frais. (Yes, but it's a bit chilly.)

A quick warning for English speakers: never say je suis chaud to mean "I'm hot" — it means something quite different. For your own temperature, use j'ai chaud (I'm hot) and j'ai froid (I'm cold).

Rain, snow, and sun: verbs and "il y a"

Some weather gets its own verb. Rain and snow are the two you need at A1:

For sun, wind, clouds, fog, and storms, French switches to il y a ("there is"):

You'll hear both systems mixed freely: Il fait beau mais il y a du vent — it's nice out, but windy. That single sentence uses everything in this section.

Asking about the weather in French

The classic question is Quel temps fait-il ? (kel TAHN feh-teel) — "What's the weather like?" In everyday speech you'll more often hear the relaxed versions:

Two words share the weather space here. Le temps means "the weather" (and also "time" — context does the sorting). La météo is the everyday word for the forecast, an abbreviation of météorologie, as the Larousse dictionary entry for météo explains. Checking la météo is a national morning ritual — the forecast from Météo-France, the official national weather service, plays after the evening news to a devoted audience.

By the way, if demain (tomorrow) sent you reaching for your calendar words, brush up with our lesson on days of the week and months in French.

Temperatures and seasons

Temperature uses the same il fait pattern with a number: Il fait vingt degrés — it's twenty degrees. France uses Celsius, so recalibrate your instincts: 20°C is a pleasant spring day, 30°C is hot, and anything above 35°C makes the news. A few useful lines:

La canicule (heat wave) is a word every summer visitor to France learns fast — it dominates headlines and conversations every July. If numbers still slow you down, our guide to French numbers from 1 to 100 will get vingt-cinq degrés rolling off your tongue.

The four seasons: le printemps (spring), l'été (summer), l'automne (autumn), l'hiver (winter). Say "in": au printemps, but en été, en automne, en hiver.

Weather small talk, the French way

Weather in French conversation works exactly like it does in English: it's the safe, friendly channel for talking to strangers. A typical exchange at the bakery:

La boulangère : Bonjour ! Il fait gris aujourd'hui...

Vous : Oui, et il pleut depuis ce matin !

La boulangère : La météo annonce du soleil pour demain.

Vous : Enfin ! Une baguette, s'il vous plaît.

Notice the rhythm: greeting first, one weather line each, then business. As with every French interaction, the bonjour comes before anything else — the same rule you learned in how to say hello and goodbye in French. A weather remark right after your greeting marks you as friendly rather than transactional, and French shopkeepers respond warmly to it.

Three cultural notes worth knowing. First, complaining about the weather is a bonding activity, not negativity — quel temps ! (what weather!) with a sigh earns solidarity. Second, il pleut des cordes is the French "raining cats and dogs"; using it will get you a smile. Third, in the south you may hear le mistral — the famous cold wind that funnels down the Rhône valley and has its own place in small talk.

Reading these phrases is step one; saying them out loud so a French ear understands you is the real goal. The nasal vent, the soft neige, the r in froid — this is exactly what you'll practice out loud in Lesson A1-14: Talking About the Weather inside Simply French, with native-speed audio and instant pronunciation scoring on every line.

Put it together: a mini weather report

Try building your own forecast, the way French TV presents it: Aujourd'hui, il fait gris et il y a du vent. Cet après-midi, il pleut. Demain, il fait beau et il fait 24 degrés. Say it for your own city each morning — it's a 30-second habit that locks in the whole system. Planning to travel? These lines pair perfectly with the small talk you'll make while waiting to board — see our French phrases for the airport.

Frequently asked questions

What does "il fait beau" literally mean?

Literally "it makes beautiful." Faire means "to make/do," but in weather expressions il fait simply means "it is." Translate the chunk, not the words: il fait beau = "the weather is nice."

How do I say "What's the weather like?" in French?

Quel temps fait-il ? is the standard question. In casual speech, French people often say Il fait quel temps ? or just Alors, ce temps ? For the forecast specifically, ask Qu'est-ce que dit la météo ?

What's the difference between "le temps" and "la météo"?

Le temps is the weather itself — what's happening in the sky right now. La météo is the forecast (short for météorologie). So you'd say le temps est gris but la météo annonce de la pluie (the forecast says rain).

Why is it "il y a du vent" and not "il fait vent"?

Sun, wind, clouds, and fog are treated as things that are present, so French uses il y a (there is) plus du/des: il y a du vent. Adjective-like qualities (hot, cold, nice, grey) take il fait. If you're unsure, il fait + adjective and il y a + noun covers nearly every case.

How do I say "I'm cold" in French?

Use avoir: j'ai froid (I'm cold) and j'ai chaud (I'm hot). Reserve il fait froid / il fait chaud for the weather itself. Saying je suis chaud(e) means something very different in slang — a classic beginner trap.

Do French people really talk about the weather a lot?

Constantly. It's the default small talk with neighbors, shopkeepers, and taxi drivers, and the nightly météo after the 8 pm news is an institution. A single weather line after bonjour is the easiest way to sound natural as a learner.

Related lessons

• How to Say Hello and Goodbye in French (A1-1) — the greeting that opens every weather chat
• French Numbers 1-100 (A1-4) — for temperatures and dates
• Days of the Week & Months in French (A1-6) — talk about tomorrow's forecast
• How to Tell Time in French (A1-7) — "this afternoon," "this evening," and more

Practice saying it out loud

Weather phrases only become small talk when they leave your mouth without hesitation. In Simply French, Lesson A1-14 drills every phrase in this guide at native speed, listens to you say them, and scores your pronunciation instantly — 15 minutes a day is enough. Start your free 7-day trial and have your first weather chat this week.