If there’s something that English people like to talk about, it’s the weather. Smalltalk is one of our specialities, and the discussion about the weather is one we often have with strangers, taxi drivers, shopkeepers…
So how do you describe the weather in Italian? Most of us know that the Italians can usually enjoy better weather than we can, but what are some of the Italian words to describe the weather?
As well as being a useful exercise for people to learn how to chat with people in their daily lives in Italy, being able to talk about the weather can be a useful exercise for Italian learners, allowing them to get to grips with things like pronunciation.
Did you know that Italians even have their own sayings about the weather? For example, an Italian person may say “Marzo pazzo pazzerello, vedo il sole prendo l’ombrello.” This translates to “March is a little crazy, see the sun and take the umbrella.” It basically means that in Italy, the March weather is very unpredictable and even if it looks like it is going to be a sunny day, you better prepare for some rain!
“Marzo pazzo pazzerello, vedo il sole prendo l’ombrello.”
Italian saying about the weather
Asking About The Weather
“Che tempo fa?” - What is the weather like?
This is how we ask about the weather in Italian. It basically means “what is the weather like?” and is used when you want to know about what the conditions are like outside.
People may also want to ask specifically about the weather today, so you will regularly hear people say “che tempo fa oggi?” meaning “what’s the weather like today?”
“Che tempo fa oggi?” - What’s the weather like today?
There is a potential area of confusion when discussing the weather in Italian as the word “tempo” can also mean “time” in other situations. Like many English words, some words in Italian can be used in multiple scenarios and you may need to garner what the word means based on the context of the conversation.
If you’re testing your Italian skills and trying to get to a more advanced level, you can ask more specific questions about the weather in Italian. For example, to ask if it's hot outside today, you can say:
"Fa caldo oggi?" - Is it hot today?
This translates to "Is it hot today?" in English. It's a direct way to inquire specifically about the temperature and whether it feels hot outside. Similarly, you can ask about other weather conditions by substituting "caldo" (hot) with other adjectives such as "freddo" (cold), "piove" (raining), "nevica" (snowing), etc.
Basic Weather Vocabulary in Italian
If you’re looking to build your Italian vocabulary, the weather can be a good way to do this. It gives you a few more things that you can potentially talk about when you are conversing with strangers, plus it is just a logical way to enhance the number of Italian words you can say and understand.
Once you know how to ask about the weather, it is important to understand some of the responses that you may also get to the questions. For this, you need to know the weather vocabulary, and how people will explain that it is hot, cold, or other conditions.
Basic Weather Expressions in Italian
"Fa caldo" - It's hot
"Fa freddo" - It's cold
"È nuvoloso" - It's cloudy
"C'è il sole" - It's sunny
"Piove" - It's raining
"Nevica" - It's snowing
"C'è vento" - It's windy.
"Fa bel tempo" - The weather is nice
"Fa brutto tempo" - The weather is bad.
Understanding these terms will help you to at least be able to respond to the question, and hold very basic-level conversations that refer to the weather in Italian, such as what the weather is meant to be like on a certain day of the week. These weather words explain when it is hot, cold, cloudy, sunny, and other standard responses to the question. In Italy, there doesn’t tend to be too much extreme weather, so you can save the more advanced vocabulary for later in your learning journey. You won’t need to ask anyone if there is a tornado coming, in all likelihood!
Italian Expressions About the Weather
Have you ever wondered what somebody thinks when English is their second language and they hear someone from the country say “it’s raining cats and dogs”?
Don’t try to ask any Italians about cats and dogs falling from the sky (or should that be “cani e gatti”?)
Just as we have our expressions, there are Italian expressions as well as Italian words that you might hear in connection with the weather. These idioms are part of the Italian language.
We’ve already covered the saying “Marzo pazzo pazzerello, vedo il sole prendo l’ombrello.” which means “March is a little crazy, see the sun and take the umbrella.”
However, there are some other sayings that you might hear in use in the Italian language. The Italian alternative to raining cats and dogs would be “Piove a catinelle” which translates to it is raining an awful lot.
Italian Weather Sayings
- Piove sempre sul bagnato – “It always rains on the wet ground.” – This is basically the same as saying “it never rains, but it pours”.
- Tempo da lupi – ”Wolf weather” – What on earth could this mean? Well, the literal meaning is that the weather is so bad that only wolves are out in it!
- Rosso di mattina, il mal tempo si avvicina – “Red in the morning, bad weather is near.” – A theory that a red sky in the morning suggests that the weather is going to be bad. This is a rhyme, too!
- Piove, governo ladro! – “It rains, blame the government.” – This is a funny saying that basically suggests that people blame the government for everything, including the negative weather conditions.
Pronunciation
Whether you are learning basic Italian words and phrases to help you while you are out and about on your travels, or you are trying to build towards Italian fluency, the pronunciation is absolutely key.
Fortunately, there are some very good learning resources that can help you to say Italian words correctly. Just being able to write the words down doesn’t cut it, and you’ll want to be able to have conversations in Italian as well, especially once you are in the country or speaking to a native.
Not getting the pronunciation right can also lead to some issues as you may be misunderstood. Some words in Italian sound similar and you could easily be misconstrued.
Most of the Italian weather words are pretty straightforward, so it doesn’t take too long to get them right, but just reading and writing them isn’t going to be enough.
How to Practise Your Italian Weather Vocabulary
Practising weather words and phrases in Italian doesn’t have to be a chore. One way is by incorporating media consumption into your routine. Watching Italian news broadcasts or weather reports on television or online platforms provides exposure to weather-related vocabulary in context.
Pay attention to the presenter's pronunciation and try to identify key phrases used to describe different weather conditions. Additionally, listening to Italian weather forecasts on the radio or through podcasts can further reinforce your understanding and help you become familiar with common expressions related to the weather, and that pronunciation we’ve already explained is vital.
Another helpful method is reading weather reports in Italian newspapers or online news websites. Many newspapers feature daily weather forecasts, often accompanied by detailed descriptions of expected conditions. Take the time to read these reports aloud, focusing on pronouncing the weather-related words accurately. You can also highlight new vocabulary or phrases that you encounter and review them regularly to solidify your understanding, the same can be done with numbers in Italian or other types of words. As you go from basic Italian weather phrases through to more advanced ones, this can help you to grow your knowledge.
Surrounding yourself with the language is still one of the most effective methods, and if you get the chance through Italian lessons or Italian classes, you can also put what you have learned into practise.
Learn Italian Basics (and Weather) With Superprof
Learning to talk about the weather is one of many things that can be covered with a tutor on Superprof. Whether you want to know the Italian way to ask if it is hot outside or you want to be able to politely discuss the weather with a taxi driver or member of the public, our tutors and Italian lessons can help.
Superprof gives you the chance to engage in conversations with native Italian speakers in day-to-day settings, which is an excellent way to practise using weather words and phrases naturally and build basic knowledge like the Italian alphabet, and numbers. If you want to be able to master some of the basics of Italian, being able to ask questions like "Che tempo fa oggi?" (What's the weather like today?) can be a great start.
Reach out to a Superprof tutor today to book your first Italian lesson and start to get to grips with some of these basics.
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