French weather vocabulary: il fait beau, il pleut, and il y a du vent
La météo de la semaine · tap a dayToday is lundi: later days use the near future, il va…
Aujourd’hui, il fait beau.
Aujourd’hui,todayilitfaitmakesbeau.nice
o-zhoor-DWEE, eel fay BOH · “Today the weather’s nice.”Why:Il fait + adjective. Beau here means “fine weather”, not “beautiful”. Temperature: il fait 22 degrés.
Short answer: French weather uses three patterns, all starting with an empty il (“it”). Il fait + an adjective for how the day feels: il fait beau (it’s nice), il fait froid. A single verb for things that fall: il pleut (it’s raining), il neige. Il y a (“there is”) + a noun for what is in the sky: il y a du vent, il y a des nuages. Ask with Quel temps fait-il ? Temperatures are in Celsius: il fait vingt degrés.
The three weather patterns
Il fait, il pleut, il y a
English says “it is” for almost everything. French splits the weather into three groups. Learn each word together with its pattern and the right one comes automatically.
il fait …How it feels: fait (from faire) + an adjective or a few nouns.
il pleut …Things that fall: one verb, no fait.
il y a …What is in the sky: il y a + du, de la, des + noun.
Seasons and prepositions
Au printemps, en été, en automne, en hiver
Three seasons start with a vowel and take en; only printemps starts with a consonant, so it takes au. Months always take en: en juillet.
Forecast French
Des averses, des éclaircies, la canicule
TV and app forecasts (la météo) use a small set of words you will hear every evening. Each line is glossed word by word.
Des aversessome showersdansinl’après-midi.the afternoon
day za-VAIRS don la-pray-mee-DEE
“Showers in the afternoon.”Une averse: a short, heavy shower.
Quelquesa-fewéclairciessunny-spellsen fin de journée.at end of day
KEL-kuh zay-klair-SEE on fan duh zhoor-NAY
“A few sunny spells late in the day.”Une éclaircie: a break in the clouds.
Les températuresthe temperaturessontareen baisse.in fall
lay ton-pay-ra-TÜR son on BESS
“Temperatures are falling.”En baisse / en hausse: falling / rising.
Alertealertcaniculeheatwavedans le Sud.in the South
a-LAIRT ka-nee-KÜL don luh SÜD
“Heatwave warning in the south.”La canicule: a heatwave, now a summer fixture.
Un tempsa weatherorageuxstormysur la Bretagne.over Brittany
un TON o-ra-ZHUH sür la bruh-TAN-yuh
“Stormy weather over Brittany.”Le temps means both “weather” and “time”.
Weather expressions
Il pleut des cordes, un froid de canard
French weather idioms are vivid. Tap one to hear it.
Small talk about the weather
Quel temps de chien !
The weather is the safest topic with neighbours and shopkeepers. These lines open and close the conversation.
Quelwhattempsweatherde chien !of dog
kel TON duh SHYAN · “What awful weather!”
Il faitit makesun tempsa weathermagnifique !magnificent
eel fay tuhn TON ma-nyee-FEEK · “The weather’s gorgeous!”
Il pleutit rainsdes cordes.ropes
eel pluh day KORD · “It’s pouring.”
Onwecrèvediede chaud.of heat
on KREV duh SHOH · “We’re boiling.”
Çaitcaille !curdles
sa KAI · “It’s freezing! (informal)”
Çaitva se lever.will clear-up
sa va suh luh-VAY · “It’s going to clear up.”
Temperatures
Il fait 30 degrés, moins 5
France uses Celsius. Say il fait + number + degrés; below zero is moins.