Talking About the Weather in French

Talking about the weather (le temps) is a classic topic in French conversations — just like in English! In this lesson, you’ll learn how to describe different kinds of weather, ask about it, and understand what French people mean when they say “Il fait beau.”

Sentence Builder: Talking About the Weather

Asking About the Weather

French	English
Quel temps fait-il ?	What’s the weather like?

Using Il fait…

We often use il fait to talk about general weather conditions — literally, “it makes.”

French	English
Il fait chaud	It’s warm
Il fait beau	It’s nice / pleasant
Il fait humide	It’s humid
Il fait frais	It’s cool / fresh
Il fait froid	It’s cold
Il fait mauvais (temps)	It’s bad weather
Il fait gris	It’s grey / overcast
Il fait du soleil	It’s sunny
Il fait du vent	It’s windy
Il fait beaucoup de vent	It’s very windy
Il fait du brouillard	It’s foggy

Grammar Tip:
In French, il doesn’t refer to a person — it’s an impersonal “it” that we use for weather. Il fait beau literally means “it makes nice (weather)”, which explains the use of faire (“to make / to do”).

Using Il y a…

We use il y a (“there is / there are”) when we describe things you can see in the sky.

French	English
Il y a des nuages	It’s cloudy / There are clouds
Il y a un orage	There’s a storm
Il y a du tonnerre	There’s thunder
Il y a des éclairs	There’s lightning

Note:
You can combine this with beaucoup de to say Il y a beaucoup de nuages → “It’s very cloudy.”

Using Il… (without fait or y a)

For rain and snow, we use just “il” + a verb.

French	English
Il pleut	It’s raining
Il neige	It’s snowing

Extra expressions:

French	English
Il pleut beaucoup	It’s raining a lot
Il pleut des cordes	It’s pouring (literally: raining ropes)
Il neige fort	It’s snowing heavily

Learn More: Weather in France

Forecasts:
The weather forecast is la météo — you might hear “la météo dit qu’il va pleuvoir” (“the forecast says it’s going to rain”).

Regional differences:
France has a wide range of climates. In the south, you’ll hear “Il fait chaud” and “Il fait du soleil” most of the year, while in the north or Brittany, “Il fait gris” or “Il pleut” might be more common!

Small talk:
French people often use weather to start a friendly chat — just like English speakers. Try saying “Quel temps aujourd’hui !” (“What weather today!”) to sound natural.

Try It Out

Using the sentence builder and the vocabulary above, provide the French for the following phrases:

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