How to Talk About the Weather in German

Regardless of the language, everyone likes to talk about the  weather. Learning how to talk about the weather in German is a key part of learning the language. This means youll need to learn more than just the  terms for the weather in German. You will also need to adjust  how  you talk about the weather. As with many other countries, Germany measures weather-related issues like barometric pressure and temperatures differently than in the U.S. There are even a few hidden vocabulary traps youll need to learn to avoid when talking about how warm or cold you are in German. When youre in German-speaking Europe, you also need to learn how to listen to a typical weather forecast. For example, you may need einen Regenschirm (an umbrella )  if Regen  (rain) is in the Wettervorhersage (weather forecast). Weather-Related Vocabulary and Phrases in German The tables  list common weather phrases and vocabulary. Review the chart below to learn many common German weather words and weather-related expressions. The table offers the German phrase or question on the left with the English translation on the right. In German, weather phrases can begin with  es  (it is, or its) or  es  ist  (which also means it is or its). You use  es  with a verb  and es ist  with an adjective.   Das Wetter Expressions DEUTSCH ENGLISH Fragen Questions Wie ist das Wetter heute? Whats the weather like today? Ist es warm/kalt/khl? Is it warm/cold/cool? Wie viel Grad sind es? Whats the temperature?How many degrees is it? Scheint die Sonne? Is the sun shining? Wo ist mein Regenschirm? Wheres my umbrella? ES + VERB Es regnet. Its raining. Es blitzt. Theres lightning. Es donnert. Its thundering. Es schneit. Its snowing. Es hagelt. Its hailing. ES IST + ADJECTIVE Es ist schn. Its nice. Es ist bewlkt. Its cloudy. Es ist hei. Its hot. Es ist kalt. Its cold. Es ist windig. Its windy. Es ist schwl. Its muggy/humid. So ein Sauwetter! Such lousy weather! MIR + IST Mir ist kalt. I feel cold./Im cold. Ist es dir zu hei? Do you feel too hot?/Are you too hot? A Note About Dative Phrases Although it is OK to say Im hot/cold in English, this is not the case in German. To express that you feel hot or cold in German, use a dative pronoun —   dir (to you) and  mir (to me) in the examples above. In German, you say, to me, it is hot rather than I am hot, which in German would roughly translate as you are in heat. Indeed, if you want to  speak German, youll also have to know your dative prepositions. Many dative prepositions are common terms in German, such as  nach  (after, to),  von  (by, of) and  mit  (with). Its hard to speak without them. Simply put,  dative prepositions  are governed by the  dative  case. That is, they are followed by a noun or take an object in the dative case.