Practical vocabulary guide

Weather in Chinese: Temperature, Rain, Snow & Seasons

Learn the words for sun, rain, wind and temperature, then ask about the weather with patterns you can actually reuse.

Pinyin tiānqìPattern 今天 + weather wordBest for small talk · travel · packing

Quick answer: 今天天气怎么样？ asks how the weather is today. 晴 is sunny, 阴 is overcast, 多云 is cloudy, 下雨 and 下雪 are verb phrases, and 多少度 asks the temperature. Check whether the scale is 摄氏 (Celsius) or 华氏 (Fahrenheit).

Weather is one of the most practical beginner topics: you hear it in small talk, use it when packing, and need it before travel. 天气 (tiānqì) means weather, and most sentences follow a simple subject + condition pattern such as 今天下雨 (it is raining today).

Core weather words

These words cover most forecasts and everyday conversations. Adjectives can stand alone as answers: 今天晴 means it is sunny today.

Weather words with pronunciation
Chinese	Pinyin	English
天气	tiānqì	weather
晴	qíng	sunny / clear
阴	yīn	overcast
多云	duōyún	cloudy / partly cloudy
下雨	xiàyǔ	to rain
下雪	xiàxuě	to snow
刮风	guāfēng	to be windy
雾	wù	fog
雷	léi	thunder
冰雹	bīngbáo	hail

雨 is rain and 雪 is snow. 大雨 means heavy rain and 小雨 means light rain or drizzle. 暴雨 means torrential rain, 阵雨 means a shower and 雷阵雨 means a thunderstorm. 风力 means wind force, and 台风 means typhoon.

Asking about the weather

今天天气怎么样？ (How is the weather today?) is the standard opening. 明天天气怎么样？ asks about tomorrow, and 后天 asks about the day after tomorrow.

会下雨吗？Will it rain?
明天会下雨吗？Will it rain tomorrow?
外面冷吗？Is it cold outside?
现在多少度？What temperature is it now?
要带伞吗？Do I need an umbrella?

Notice that 下雨, 下雪 and 刮风 behave like verb phrases, while 晴, 阴 and 冷 are adjectives. Both patterns are common: 下雨了 (it started raining) and 今天很冷 (it is very cold today).

Temperature and degrees

度 (dù) means degree. 多少度？ asks the temperature, and 二十度 means 20 degrees. 零下 means below zero: 零下五度 is minus five degrees. 摄氏 (shèshì) is Celsius and 华氏 (huáshì) is Fahrenheit.

Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and most other Chinese-speaking regions use Celsius in daily weather reporting, while Fahrenheit is common in the United States. When someone gives a number, check which scale is being used rather than assuming: 是摄氏还是华氏？

高温 and 低温 mean high and low temperature in forecasts. 最高温度 and 最低温度 mean the day's high and low. 体感温度 means apparent or feels-like temperature, which can differ from the reported number.

Hot, cold and humid

热 means hot and 冷 means cold. 凉快 means pleasantly cool, 暖和 means warm, 闷热 means muggy and 潮湿 means humid or damp. 干燥 means dry.

Describing how it feels
Chinese	Pinyin	English
今天很热。	jīntiān hěn rè.	It is very hot today.
有点冷。	yǒudiǎn lěng.	It is a little cold.
太闷热了。	tài mēnrè le.	It is too muggy.
天气很舒服。	tiānqì hěn shūfu.	The weather is very comfortable.
又冷又湿。	yòu lěng yòu shī.	It is both cold and damp.
风很大。	fēng hěn dà.	The wind is strong.

又……又…… means both…and…: 又热又潮湿 (hot and humid). 越来越 means more and more: 天气越来越热 (the weather is getting hotter). 突然 means suddenly: 突然下雨了 (it suddenly started raining).

Seasons and time words

The four seasons are 春天 spring, 夏天 summer, 秋天 autumn and 冬天 winter. 季节 means season. Common time words include 今天 today, 明天 tomorrow, 后天 the day after tomorrow, 昨天 yesterday, 这周 this week and 这个月 this month.

Season sentences stay simple: 夏天很热 means summer is hot, and 冬天会下雪 means it snows in winter. Everyday weather talk usually does not need 有: 下雨 sounds more natural than 有雨, though forecasts may use 有雨 as a compact written form.

Regional patterns and forecast language

Climate and seasonal patterns differ enormously across Chinese-speaking regions. 梅雨 is the plum-rain season in parts of East Asia, 台风 affects coastal areas and 沙尘暴 means a sandstorm. A word that is common in one region may be rare in another.

Forecast language often uses short written forms: 有雨 (rain expected), 局部地区 (local areas), 转晴 (turning clear), 降水概率 (chance of precipitation) and 空气质量 (air quality). These appear in apps and news bulletins, not usually in conversation.

For safety decisions such as storms, flooding, heat warnings or typhoons, follow the official local warning and advice rather than a translated forecast sentence or a phrase list.

Common mistakes to check

Saying 有雨 in conversation where 下雨 sounds more natural.
Assuming every temperature number is Celsius or Fahrenheit.
Confusing 凉快 (pleasantly cool) with 冷 (cold).
Using 天气 with an object pattern copied from English.
Assuming seasons and rainfall work the same way across regions.
Relying on a translated forecast instead of official local warnings.

Related phrase guides

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Rain

How hard is it raining? The Chinese rain ladder

Chinese states rain strength with a fixed set of graded words, and forecasts use exactly this scale. Learning the ladder matters because 小雨 and 大雨 are not interchangeable: one means drizzle, the other means heavy rain.

Rain intensity in Chinese, from lightest to heaviest
Chinese	Pinyin	English	Note
毛毛雨	máomáoyǔ	drizzle	Fine, persistent drops; also simply 小雨 in forecasts.
小雨	xiǎoyǔ	light rain	The first step on the official scale.
中雨	zhōngyǔ	moderate rain	Steady rain; an umbrella is expected.
大雨	dàyǔ	heavy rain	The standard word for “heavy rain”.
暴雨	bàoyǔ	torrential rain, rainstorm	The strongest common grade; used in weather warnings.
阵雨	zhènyǔ	shower	Comes and stops again; intensity is not the point.
雷阵雨	léizhènyǔ	thundershower	A shower with thunder; common on summer afternoons.

To say that it is raining hard, use 下大雨 (xià dàyǔ) or 雨很大 (yǔ hěn dà); 下小雨 means a light rain is falling. The character 雨 also builds everyday objects and situations: 雨伞 (umbrella), 雨衣 (raincoat), 雨鞋 (rain boots), 雨季 (rainy season), 淋雨 (to get caught in the rain) and 避雨 (to take shelter from the rain). 雨 is written the same in simplified and traditional Chinese, and its four internal dots should stay separate in a design rather than merging into a line.

Low visibility

霾, 雾 and 沙尘暴: three kinds of grey sky

Chinese keeps separate words for fog, haze and blowing dust, and official reporting distinguishes them even when the sky looks the same. The everyday combined word 雾霾 is the one that shows up in winter news and air-quality warnings.

Fog, haze, dust and air quality
Chinese	Pinyin	English	Note
雾	wù	fog	Water droplets in the air; the everyday word for a foggy morning.
霾	mái	haze, smog	Dry particles, often tied to pollution; the term used in air-quality reports.
雾霾	wùmái	smog-haze	The combined everyday word for a grey, polluted winter sky.
沙尘	shāchén	blowing dust, sand	Dust carried by wind, typical of northern spring weather.
沙尘暴	shāchénbào	sandstorm	Carries an official warning level; visibility drops sharply.
能见度	néngjiàndù	visibility	The measurement used to describe fog, haze and sandstorm conditions.
空气质量	kōngqì zhìliàng	air quality	Reported as an index; 空气污染 means air pollution.

In careful writing, calling a polluted grey sky 雾 when the report says 霾 is a factual mistake, because 雾 describes water droplets and 霾 describes particles. In everyday talk the line is blurry and 雾霾 covers both, but a caption, a translation or a news summary should follow the official term. Chinese forecasts also publish an 空气质量指数 (air quality index) alongside 能见度, and dust or haze warnings can appear even when there is no cloud or rain at all.

Forecast language

Reading a Chinese weather forecast

A Chinese forecast is compact and formula-driven: a condition, a turning phrase, a temperature range, a precipitation chance and a wind grade, in that order. Once the labels are known, a screenshot becomes readable without translation.

The terms inside 天气预报
Chinese	Pinyin	English	Where it appears
天气预报	tiānqì yùbào	weather forecast	The title of the forecast itself.
气温	qìwēn	air temperature	The temperature of the air, distinct from 水温 (water) and 体温 (body).
最高气温 / 最低气温	zuìgāo / zuìdī qìwēn	high / low temperature	Shown as a pair, high first.
降水	jiàngshuǐ	precipitation	The umbrella term covering rain and snow.
降水概率	jiàngshuǐ gàilǜ	chance of precipitation	Given as a percentage.
局部地区	júbù dìqū	some areas, locally	Means the rain or fog will not cover everywhere.
转	zhuǎn	turning to	Joins two conditions, as in 晴转多云 (sunny turning cloudy).
风力	fēnglì	wind force	Followed by a grade number on the Beaufort scale.
空气质量	kōngqì zhìliàng	air quality	Reported as an index number with a category word.

A typical line reads 明天晴转多云，气温 18 到 26 度，降水概率 20% — “tomorrow sunny turning cloudy, temperature 18 to 26 degrees, 20% chance of precipitation.” Two details trip up learners. First, 度 in a mainland Chinese forecast means degrees Celsius; Fahrenheit is written out as 华氏度, with 摄氏度 for Celsius. Second, 风力 3 级 means Beaufort force 3, not 3 kilometres per hour, so the number cannot be read as a wind speed. 转 can join almost any pair of conditions, and 局部地区 attached to rain or fog means the weather is patchy rather than nationwide.

Questions about this page

How do you say “weather” in Chinese?

天气 (tiānqì) means weather. 今天天气怎么样？ asks how the weather is today.

How do you say it is raining in Chinese?

下雨 means to rain, and 下雨了 means it has started raining. 大雨 is heavy rain, 小雨 is light rain and 雷阵雨 is a thunderstorm.

How do you ask the temperature in Chinese?

现在多少度？ asks what the temperature is now. 度 means degree, and 零下五度 means minus five degrees.

Is Chinese weather reported in Celsius or Fahrenheit?

Most Chinese-speaking regions use Celsius in daily reporting, while Fahrenheit is common in the United States. Check which scale is being used: 是摄氏还是华氏？

How do you say hot and cold in Chinese?

热 means hot and 冷 means cold. 凉快 means pleasantly cool, 暖和 means warm, 闷热 means muggy and 潮湿 means humid.

What are the four seasons in Chinese?

春天 spring, 夏天 summer, 秋天 autumn and 冬天 winter. 季节 means season.

How do you ask whether it will rain tomorrow?

明天会下雨吗？ asks whether it will rain tomorrow. 要带伞吗？ asks whether you need to bring an umbrella.

What does 多云 mean?

多云 means cloudy or partly cloudy. 晴 means sunny or clear, and 阴 means overcast.

What is 梅雨?

梅雨 is the plum-rain season, a period of prolonged damp weather in parts of East Asia. Its timing and intensity vary by year and region.

Should I rely on these phrases for storm safety?

No. For typhoons, flooding, heat warnings or other hazards, follow official local warnings and instructions rather than a translated forecast sentence.

How do you say heavy rain in Chinese?

大雨 (dàyǔ) is heavy rain and 暴雨 (bàoyǔ) is torrential rain or a rainstorm. To say it is raining hard, use 下大雨 or 雨很大. 小雨 is light rain and 中雨 is moderate rain on the same graded scale.

What is the difference between 雾 and 霾?

雾 (wù) is fog, formed from water droplets, while 霾 (mái) is haze, carried by dry particles and often linked to pollution. The everyday combined word 雾霾 describes the grey, polluted sky; official reports keep the two terms apart.

How do you say weather forecast in Chinese?

天气预报 (tiānqì yùbào) is the weather forecast. Inside it, 气温 is the air temperature, 最高气温 and 最低气温 are the high and low, 降水概率 is the chance of precipitation, and 风力 is given as a Beaufort grade.

Does 度 mean Celsius or Fahrenheit in a Chinese forecast?

In mainland Chinese forecasts, 度 means degrees Celsius. Fahrenheit is written out as 华氏度 and Celsius as 摄氏度, so both are spelled out when a report needs to avoid ambiguity.

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Related everyday phrases

Weather 天气 sits among these expressions, but the polite or natural choice still depends on the relationship, time of day and whether the setting is spoken or written.

How much 多少钱 Where is the bathroom 洗手间在哪里 Yes and no 是 / 不 / 没 I don’t understand 我不懂 Numbers 0–100 数字 Time and dates 时间 Family members 家人 Shopping and money 购物 Directions and transport 方向 Measure words 量词 Question words 疑问词 Food and restaurants 点菜 Body and health 身体 Emergency phrases 紧急情况 Festival phrases 节日 All everyday Chinese phrases Chinese travel phrases Colours in Chinese Classical phrases and everyday expressions

From 风 vocabulary to Chinese wind names

The weather page explains 风 as an everyday word for wind. This separate guide compares the direct name character with related images such as a crisp breeze, easing, floating and flight.

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