How to Talk About Basic Weather Conditions

Learn how to talk about basic weather conditions

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Chinese by ChineseClass101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about weather conditions in Chinese.

For example, "It's raining." is

在下雨。(Zài xiàyǔ.)

Anna Xu is in rainy Beijing.

She’s on a long-distance call with Xiaoyun Xu , her former colleague, who asks about the current weather.

Before you hear their conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

天气 (tiānqì)

"weather"

天气

下雨 (xiàyǔ)

"rain"

下雨

Listen to the conversation, and focus on the response.

Ready?

天气怎么样？ (Tiānqì zěnmeyàng?)

在下雨。 (Zài xiàyǔ.)

Once more with the English translation.

天气怎么样？ (Tiānqì zěnmeyàng?)

"How's the weather?"

在下雨。 (Zài xiàyǔ.)

"It's raining."

Let’s break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Xiaoyun Xu asks,

"How's the weather?"

天气怎么样？ (Tiānqì zěnmeyàng?)

First is, 天气 (tiānqì), "weather." 天气 . 天气。

Next is 怎么样 (zěnmeyàng). "how [is]," in this context, as in "how is the weather." 怎么样 . 怎么样。

Together, 天气怎么样？(Tiānqì zěnmeyàng?) literally, "Weather how [is]" but translates as "How's the weather?"

天气怎么样？(Tiānqì zěnmeyàng?)

Now, let's take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Anna says

"It's raining."

在下雨。(Zài xiàyǔ.)

First is 在 (zài), which literally means "at." However, when 在 is followed by a verb, it’s like the -ing, as in “raining.” It indicates the progressive tense, describing an ongoing action. 在 . 在。

Here, 在 (zài) is followed by 下雨 (xiàyǔ), which means "to rain." 下雨

It can be divided into two parts.

First is 下 (xià), "to come down," in this context. 下. 下.

Next is 雨 (yǔ), "rain." 雨. 雨.

Together, 下雨 (xiàyǔ) "to rain." 下雨。

Altogether, 在下雨。(Zài xiàyǔ.) Translates as, "It's raining."

在下雨。(Zài xiàyǔ.)

The key pattern is

在 (Zài) WEATHER-RELATED VERB。

"It's WEATHER-RELATED VERB-ing."

在 (Zài) WEATHER-RELATED VERB。

To use this pattern, simply replace the WEATHER-RELATED VERB with a verb phrase to describe what is going on with the current weather condition.

Imagine you're in Harbin, and it's snowing. 下雪 (xiàxuě). 下雪 . 下雪。

Say

"It's snowing."

Ready?

在下雪。(Zài xiàxuě.)

"It's snowing."

在下雪。

When using 怎么样 (zěnmeyàng) to ask how something is in Chinese, the pattern is subject plus 怎么样.

In the conversation, 天气 (tiānqì), the subject, plus 怎么样 (zěnmeyàng)？天气怎么样？(Tiānqì zěnmeyàng?)

"How’s the weather?"

Again, the key pattern is

在 (Zài) WEATHER-RELATED VERB。

"It's WEATHER-RELATED VERB-ing."

在 (Zài) WEATHER-RELATED VERB。

Let’s look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

在下雨。 (Zài xiàyǔ.)

“It’s raining.”

在下雨。

在下雪。 (Zài xiàxuě.)

“It’s snowing.”

在下雪。

在出太阳。 (Zài chū tàiyáng.)

“The sun is out.”

在出太阳。

在刮风。 (Zài guāfēng.)

“The wind is blowing.”

在刮风。

今天在下雨。(Jīntiān zài xiàyǔ.)

“It’s raining today.”

今天在下雨。(Jīntiān zài xiàyǔ.)

Did you notice the native speaker added the word 今天 (jīntiān)?

今天在下雨。(Jīntiān zài xiàyǔ.)

"It's raining today."

First is, 今天 (Jīntiān), “today.” 今天. 今天.

Next is 在 (zài). when 在 is followed by a verb, it’s like the -ing, as in “raining.” 在。

After this is 下雨 (xiàyǔ) "to rain." 下雨。

Together, 在下雨 (zài xiàyǔ.) “[it] is raining.” 在下雨.

Note: the “it” is not used in Chinese.

All together, 今天在下雨。(Jīntiān zài xiàyǔ.) Translating as, "It's raining today." 今天在下雨。

Let’s try another.

Imagine it's snowing today,

今天在下雪。(Jīntiān zài xiàxuě.) "It's snowing today." 今天在下雪。

Let’s review the key vocabulary and phrases.

出 (chū) means "to come out." 出 . 出。

太阳 (tàiyáng), "sun." 太阳 . 太阳。

出太阳 (chū tàiyáng),"sun comes out." 出太阳 . 出太阳。

下 (xià) "to go down." 下 . 下

雪 (xuě) "snow" 雪 . 雪

下雪 (xiàxuě) "to snow" 下雪 . 下雪

刮 (guā) "to blow." 刮 . 刮.

刮风 (guāfēng) "wind blows." 刮风 . 刮风.

今天 (jīntiān) means "today." 今天 . 今天。

Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud.

Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "to rain?"

下雨 (xiàyǔ)

Do you remember how Anna Xu says,

"It's raining"

在下雨。 (Zài xiàyǔ.)

Do you remember how to say "weather?"

天气 (tiānqì)

Do you remember how Xiaoyun Xu asks,

"How's the weather?"

天气怎么样？ (Tiānqì zěnme yàng?)

Do you remember how to say "to snow?"

下雪 (xiàxuě)

And how to say "sun comes out?"

出太阳 (chū tàiyáng)

Do you remember how to say "today?"

今天 (jīntiān)

Let's practice.

Imagine you’re Zheng Zhu in Harbin, where it’s snowing, or 下雪 (xiàxuě).

Respond to the question.

Ready?

天气怎么样？ (Tiānqì zěnme yàng?)

在下雪。 (Zài xiàxuě.)

Listen again and repeat.

在下雪。 (Zài xiàxuě.)

Let’s try another.

Imagine you’re Xiaoyun Xu in Guangzhou, where the sun is out, or 出太阳 (chū tàiyáng).

Ready?

天气怎么样？ (Tiānqì zěnme yàng?)

在出太阳。 (Zài chū tàiyáng.)

Listen again and repeat.

在出太阳。 (Zài chū tàiyáng.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you’re Anna Xu , and it’s raining today, or 下雨 (xiàyǔ).

Ready?

天气怎么样？ (Tiānqì zěnme yàng?)

今天在下雨。 (Jīntiān zài xiàyǔ.)

Listen again and repeat.

今天在下雨。 (Jīntiān zài xiàyǔ.)

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about weather in Chinese. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of talking about the weather. Let’s review.

Do you remember how to say "hot?"

热 (rè)

And do you remember how to say "today?"

今天 (jīntiān)

Do you remember how to say,

"It’s really hot today."

今天真热。(Jīntiān zhēn rè.)

Do you remember how to say "It’s snowing." in Chinese?

在下雪 (Zài xiàxuě.)

Imagine you're Jack Jones , and it's warm outside.

Do you remember how to say "warm" in Chinese?

暖和 (nuǎnhuo)

Now, tell your friend that it's warm.

今天真暖和。(Jīntiān zhēn nuǎnhuo.)

是啊，真暖和。(Shì a, zhēn nuǎnhuo.)

Listen again and repeat.

今天真暖和。(Jīntiān zhēn nuǎnhuo.)

On a different occasion you're traveling in the mountains and talking with your friend on the phone. Your friend asks how the weather is, and it's snowy.

Do you remember how to say "to snow" in Chinese?

下雪 (xiàxuě)

Respond to your friend and say it's snowy.

天气怎么样？ (Tiānqì zěnme yàng?)

在下雪。 (Zài xiàxuě.)。

Listen again and repeat.

在下雪。 (Zài xiàxuě.)

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Talk About the Weather unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like.

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