Weather Expressions in Cantonese

In Brief

Cantonese weather descriptions often need no word meaning “is”: 今日好熱 (gam1 jat6 hou2 jit6) literally follows the pattern “today + quite/very + hot.” Weather events use verbs such as 落雨 (lok6 jyu5, to rain), 出太陽 (ceot1 taai3 joeng4, to be sunny), and 打風 (daa2 fung1, to have typhoon conditions).

Overview

Weather is an everyday A1 topic in Cantonese, particularly in Hong Kong, where heat, humidity, heavy rain, and tropical cyclones shape daily plans. A short comment such as 今日好熱 (“It’s hot today”) can open a conversation, while a question such as 聽日會唔會落雨？ (“Will it rain tomorrow?”) is useful before arranging a trip.

There are two main patterns to learn. First, weather qualities such as 熱 (“hot”) and 凍 (“cold”) behave like adjective-predicates: they can describe the day directly, without 係 (hai6, “to be”). A predicate is simply the part of a sentence that says something about its topic. Second, events such as raining and the sun coming out are expressed with verb phrases: 落雨 and 出太陽.

English normally inserts a dummy subject, “it,” in “It is hot” or “It is raining.” Cantonese does not need an equivalent of that “it.” Instead, it can begin with a time, a place, or a topic—今日 (“today”), 出面 (“outside”), or 香港 (“Hong Kong”)—or leave the context unstated when it is already obvious.

How It Works

Describing heat and cold

The beginner pattern is:

time/place + 好 + weather adjective

• 今日好熱。 (gam1 jat6 hou2 jit6) — It is hot today.
• 出面好凍。 (ceot1 min6 hou2 dung3) — It is cold outside.
• 夜晚好涼。 (je6 maan5 hou2 loeng4) — It is cool at night.

好 (hou2) can mean “very,” but before an adjective it is often a natural, unmarked way to make a description. Consequently, 今日好熱 may mean either “It is hot today” or “It is very hot today,” depending on stress and context. Do not assume that 好 always adds strong emphasis.

A bare adjective is possible, but it often sounds contrastive or incomplete by itself. 今日熱 can work when contrasting days—“Today is hot (unlike yesterday)”—whereas 今日好熱 is the safer neutral comment for a beginner.

Common temperature words include:

Cantonese	Jyutping	Meaning and use
熱	jit6	hot; used for weather, rooms, food, and objects
凍	dung3	cold; used for weather, rooms, food, and objects
涼	loeng4	pleasantly cool
暖	nyun5	warm

Notice that Cantonese does not use 係 before these adjectives. 今日係好熱 is possible only in a marked construction, such as strongly confirming “Today really is hot,” not as the ordinary translation of “Today is hot.”

Talking about weather events

Some weather is described as something happening rather than as a quality.

Cantonese expression	Jyutping	Basic meaning
落雨	lok6 jyu5	to rain; literally “rain falls”
落大雨	lok6 daai6 jyu5	to rain heavily
出太陽	ceot1 taai3 joeng4	for the sun to come out; to be sunny
有風	jau5 fung1	to be windy; literally “there is wind”
打風	daa2 fung1	to have typhoon conditions / for a typhoon to affect the area

These phrases act as the predicate, so no equivalent of English “it” or “is” is needed:

• 落雨喇。 (lok6 jyu5 laa3) — It’s raining now.
• 今日出太陽。 (gam1 jat6 ceot1 taai3 joeng4) — It’s sunny today / The sun is out today.
• 出面有風。 (ceot1 min6 jau5 fung1) — It’s windy outside.

喇 (laa3) is a sentence-final particle—a short word at the end that expresses the speaker’s attitude or how the situation has changed. Here it signals that the rain has begun or that the information is newly relevant.

Describing fog, cloud, and wind

Cantonese frequently uses 好 + 大 + weather noun for a large amount or strong presence of a weather phenomenon:

• 出面好大霧。 (ceot1 min6 hou2 daai6 mou6) — It is very foggy outside.
• 今日好大風。 (gam1 jat6 hou2 daai6 fung1) — It is very windy today.

Here 大 (daai6, “big”) expresses intensity, much as English uses “heavy” in “heavy fog” or “strong” in “strong wind.” For clouds, 好多雲 (hou2 do1 wan4, “a lot of clouds”) is straightforward. 天陰 (tin1 jam1) means the sky is overcast or gloomy.

Asking about the weather

To ask a general question, use 天氣點呀？ (tin1 hei3 dim2 aa3?), literally “How is the weather?” Add a place or time before it when needed:

• 聽日天氣點呀？ — What will the weather be like tomorrow?
• 香港冬天天氣點呀？ — What is Hong Kong’s weather like in winter?

For a yes-or-no question, Cantonese often uses the A-not-A pattern: repeat an element in positive and negative form. With 會 (wui5, “will; be likely to”), this gives 會唔會 (“will or won’t; is it likely?”):

time + 會唔會 + weather event？

• 聽日會唔會落雨？ (ting1 jat6 wui5 m4 wui5 lok6 jyu5?) — Will it rain tomorrow?
• 晏晝會唔會出太陽？ (aan3 zau3 wui5 m4 wui5 ceot1 taai3 joeng4?) — Will the sun come out this afternoon?

A question particle also works: 聽日會落雨嗎？ is grammatically understandable, but 會唔會 is especially natural in everyday spoken Cantonese. 嗎 is more strongly associated with formal writing and Mandarin-influenced phrasing.

Negating a forecast or description

Use 唔 (m4, “not”) before many adjectives and verbs:

• 今日唔凍。 (gam1 jat6 m4 dung3) — It isn’t cold today.
• 聽日唔會落雨。 (ting1 jat6 m4 wui5 lok6 jyu5) — It won’t rain tomorrow.

To say that an expected event did not happen, Cantonese often uses 冇 (mou5, “did not; there is not”) rather than 唔:

• 尋日冇落雨。 (cam4 jat6 mou5 lok6 jyu5) — It didn’t rain yesterday.

For A1 use, remember the practical contrast: 唔會落雨 is a negative prediction; 冇落雨 reports that rain did not occur.

Examples in Context

Cantonese	Jyutping	English	Note
今日好熱。	gam1 jat6 hou2 jit6.	It’s very hot today.	Basic adjective pattern
朝早幾涼。	ziu1 zou2 gei2 loeng4.	It’s quite cool in the morning.	幾 means “quite” here
夜晚好凍，着多件衫啦。	je6 maan5 hou2 dung3, zoek3 do1 gin6 saam1 laa1.	It’s cold at night; put on another layer.	Advice prompted by weather
而家落緊雨。	ji4 gaa1 lok6 gan2 jyu5.	It’s raining now.	緊 marks an action in progress
頭先落大雨。	tau4 sin1 lok6 daai6 jyu5.	It rained heavily just now.	大 gives the intensity
聽日會唔會落雨？	ting1 jat6 wui5 m4 wui5 lok6 jyu5?	Will it rain tomorrow?	A-not-A question
天氣預報話聽日唔會落雨。	tin1 hei3 jyu6 bou3 waa6 ting1 jat6 m4 wui5 lok6 jyu5.	The weather forecast says it won’t rain tomorrow.	話 introduces reported information
雨停咗喇，而家出太陽。	jyu5 ting4 zo2 laa3, ji4 gaa1 ceot1 taai3 joeng4.	The rain has stopped, and now the sun is out.	A change in conditions
出面好大霧，揸車要小心。	ceot1 min6 hou2 daai6 mou6, zaa1 ce1 jiu3 siu2 sam1.	It’s very foggy outside; drive carefully.	Realistic warning
今日好大風。	gam1 jat6 hou2 daai6 fung1.	It’s very windy today.	Ordinary strong wind
打風喇！	daa2 fung1 laa3!	A typhoon is affecting us!	Not merely “It’s windy”
香港夏天又熱又濕。	hoeng1 gong2 haa6 tin1 jau6 jit6 jau6 sap1.	Hong Kong summers are both hot and humid.	又…又… joins two qualities
今日好多雲，冇乜太陽。	gam1 jat6 hou2 do1 wan4, mou5 mat1 taai3 joeng4.	It’s very cloudy today, with hardly any sun.	Literally “many clouds”
聽日天氣點呀？	ting1 jat6 tin1 hei3 dim2 aa3?	What will the weather be like tomorrow?	General weather question

Common Mistakes

Adding 係 before a weather adjective

• Wrong: 今日係好熱。 (as a neutral statement)
• Right: 今日好熱。
• Why: Cantonese adjectives can serve directly as the predicate. Ordinary descriptions do not need 係 (“to be”).

Translating English “it” with 佢

• Wrong: 佢今日好凍。 when 佢 is meant as weather “it”
• Right: 今日好凍。
• Why: 佢 (keoi5) refers to a person, animal, or identifiable thing. Cantonese does not insert it as a dummy weather subject.

Using 打風 for any windy day

• Wrong: 今日打風。 merely because there is a breeze
• Right: 今日有風。 / 今日好大風。
• Why: In Hong Kong Cantonese, 打風 refers to a tropical cyclone or typhoon affecting the area, not ordinary wind.

Treating 好 as an exact match for “very”

• Awkward assumption: 今日好熱 must always mean “Today is very hot.”
• Better interpretation: It can simply be a natural “It’s hot today,” with strength supplied by context and stress.
• Why: 好 commonly makes an adjective predicate sound neutral and complete. Use 非常 (fei1 soeng4, “extremely/very”) for clearer, more formal emphasis, or rely on voice and context in conversation.

Confusing future and past negation

• Wrong: 尋日唔會落雨。 when reporting what actually happened
• Right: 尋日冇落雨。
• Why: 唔會落雨 expresses a prediction or likelihood (“won’t rain”). 冇落雨 reports non-occurrence (“didn’t rain”).

Usage Notes

Spoken forms and written forecasts

Everyday Cantonese favors direct phrases such as 好熱, 落雨, and 打風, together with final particles such as 呀, 喇, and 啦. Formal weather reports use more technical vocabulary, including 氣溫 (hei3 wan1, air temperature), 濕度 (sap1 dou6, humidity), 天氣預報 (tin1 hei3 jyu6 bou3, weather forecast), and 熱帶氣旋 (jit6 daai3 hei3 syun4, tropical cyclone).

The usual written form in Hong Kong forecasts may look more formal than casual speech. As a beginner, prioritize recognizing the formal terms while producing the shorter spoken patterns naturally.

Hong Kong typhoon language

打風 is culturally important shorthand for typhoon conditions. It does not specify the official warning signal by itself. You may hear 掛風球 (gwaa3 fung1 kau4, “hoist/issue a tropical cyclone signal”) or a particular signal number in Hong Kong. Warning systems and their practical consequences can change, so rely on current official announcements rather than treating a language example as safety advice.

Choosing a time expression

Weather comments often begin with time:

• 今日 (gam1 jat6) — today
• 聽日 (ting1 jat6) — tomorrow
• 尋日 (cam4 jat6) — yesterday
• 朝早 (ziu1 zou2) — morning
• 晏晝 (aan3 zau3) — afternoon
• 夜晚 (je6 maan5) — evening/night

Cantonese normally places the time before the predicate. This matches “Today it’s hot” more closely than “It’s hot today,” although both English orders translate naturally as 今日好熱.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master these details at A1, but they explain forms you will soon hear.

The aspect marker 緊 (gan2) presents an event as ongoing: 落緊雨 means “is raining.” The marker 咗 (zo2) presents a change or completed event: 落咗雨 can mean that it rained or rain has occurred, while 雨停咗 means “the rain has stopped.” These markers express how an event unfolds rather than functioning exactly like English tense endings.

For an imminent change, colloquial Cantonese uses 就嚟…喇 (zau6 lai4 ... laa3, “about to…”):

• 就嚟落雨喇。 — It’s about to rain.
• 就嚟打風喇。 — Typhoon conditions are approaching.

Degree words allow finer descriptions. 幾 (gei2) before an adjective often means “quite,” as in 今日幾涼 (“It’s quite cool today”). 太…喇 means “too…,” as in 今日太熱喇 (“It’s too hot today”). 又…又… links two parallel qualities: 又熱又濕 (“both hot and humid”).

Comparisons can be built with 過 (gwo3, “than”): 今日熱過尋日 means “Today is hotter than yesterday.” A bare adjective is natural here because the comparison itself supplies a clear structure; this is one reason the beginner pattern 好 + adjective is a strong default rather than an absolute rule.

Practice Tips

1. Keep a seven-day weather diary. Write one short line each day using a time expression plus either 好 + adjective or a weather event: 今日好熱, 今日落雨, 今日好多雲.
2. Practice forecasts in pairs. Ask 聽日會唔會落雨？ and answer either 會 (“yes, it will”) or 唔會 (“no, it won’t”), then add another condition.
3. Listen for whole chunks. Learn 落雨, 出太陽, 好大風, and 打風 as complete units. When watching Hong Kong weather clips, note whether speakers use 緊, 咗, or a sentence-final particle.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Adjectives and 好 — explains why 好熱 and 好凍 work without a copula.