Weather and Seasons in Mandarin Chinese

In Brief

Use 天气怎么样？ (tiānqì zěnmeyàng?) to ask what the weather is like. Describe temperature with an adjective-like word, as in 今天很热 (“It is hot today”), and use verb phrases such as 下雨 and 下雪 for rain and snow. The seasons are 春天、夏天、秋天、冬天.

Overview

Weather is an ideal A1 topic: a small group of words lets you make useful observations, ask everyday questions, and talk about plans. Mandarin does not conjugate words for person or tense, so 冷 stays unchanged whether you are describing today, yesterday, Beijing, or several places. Time is usually made clear with words such as 今天 “today,” 昨天 “yesterday,” and 明天 “tomorrow.”

The main difference for an English-speaking learner is that Mandarin does not normally insert 是 wherever English uses “is.” Words such as 热 “hot” and 冷 “cold” can form the predicate (the part that says something about the topic) by themselves. Thus 今天很冷 is a complete sentence: “It is cold today.”

Weather conditions do not all use the same structure. Temperature words behave like descriptive predicates, precipitation uses verbs such as 下雨, and weather types can be nouns, as in 晴天 “a clear day.” Learning the pattern with each word is more reliable than translating “It is …” word for word.

How It Works

Essential weather vocabulary

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning	Typical pattern
天气	tiānqì	weather	天气怎么样？
热	rè	hot	很热
冷	lěng	cold	很冷
暖和	nuǎnhuo	warm	很暖和
凉快	liángkuai	pleasantly cool	很凉快
下雨	xià yǔ	to rain	下雨了
下雪	xià xuě	to snow	会下雪
刮风	guā fēng	to be windy; for the wind to blow	今天刮风
晴天	qíngtiān	clear, sunny day	是晴天
阴天	yīntiān	overcast day	是阴天

Asking about the weather

The broadest question is:

Time/place + 天气 + 怎么样？

怎么样 (zěnmeyàng) means “how is it?” or “what is it like?” The time or place comes before 天气:

• 今天天气怎么样？ — How is the weather today?
• 北京冬天的天气怎么样？ — What is Beijing’s winter weather like?

In the second sentence, 的 links the description 北京冬天 to 天气. In casual conversation, speakers often shorten the question when the topic is obvious: 今天怎么样？ can mean “How is it today?”, though it may also ask how someone’s day is going. Including 天气 removes that ambiguity.

For a yes-or-no question, use 吗:

• 今天冷吗？ — Is it cold today?
• 外面下雨吗？ — Is it raining outside?

You can also use the common positive-negative question pattern:

• 今天冷不冷？ — Is it cold today?
• 外面下不下雨？ — Is it going to rain / Is it raining outside?

Describing temperature: no 是

For a simple description, use:

Topic + 很 + descriptive word

• 今天很热。 — It is hot today.
• 冬天很冷。 — Winter is cold.
• 秋天很凉快。 — Autumn is pleasantly cool.

Although 很 literally means “very,” in a neutral sentence such as 今天很热, it often acts as a natural link between the topic and the description. The translation may simply be “It is hot today,” without strong emphasis on “very.” To emphasize the degree, use words such as 非常 “extremely” or 太……了 “too/so …”:

• 今天非常热。 — It is extremely hot today.
• 今天太热了！ — It is so hot today!

A bare adjective can sound contrastive. 今天冷，明天热 naturally contrasts two days: “Today is cold; tomorrow will be hot.”

Do not put 是 directly before these descriptive words in an ordinary statement. 今天是冷 is not the normal equivalent of “Today is cold.” 是 is appropriate when what follows is a noun phrase: 今天是晴天 “Today is a clear day.”

Rain, snow, and wind use verbs

In 下雨, 下 literally has the sense of falling and 雨 means rain. Together they form the usual verb phrase “to rain.” 下雪 works in the same way with 雪 “snow.” Mandarin does not need a dummy subject corresponding to English “it”:

• 外面下雨。 — It is raining outside.
• 山上下雪了。 — It has started snowing in the mountains.

了 at the end often presents a new situation or change. In 下雨了, the relevant message is commonly that rain has begun or that it is now raining. Without 了, 这里常常下雨 describes a general fact: “It often rains here.”

For wind, 刮风 is a verb phrase: 外面刮风了 means that it has become windy or the wind has started blowing. You can also describe wind with 风很大, literally “the wind is big,” meaning “It is very windy.”

The four seasons

Season	Pinyin	English
春天	chūntiān	spring
夏天	xiàtiān	summer
秋天	qiūtiān	autumn; fall
冬天	dōngtiān	winter

天 appears in all four everyday season names. A season can act as the topic of a sentence without an article corresponding to English “the”:

• 夏天很热。 — Summer is hot.
• 我喜欢春天。 — I like spring.

To say “in” a season, Mandarin often simply places the season at the beginning: 冬天常常下雪 “It often snows in winter.” 在冬天 is also possible, especially when the time phrase needs emphasis, but beginners do not need to add 在 automatically.

To name a favorite season, use 最喜欢 “like most”:

• 我最喜欢秋天。 — I like autumn best.
• 你最喜欢哪个季节？ — Which season do you like best?

季节 (jìjié) is the general word “season,” while 哪个 means “which one.”

Adding time, place, frequency, and future meaning

A useful default order is:

Time + place + weather statement

• 今天北京很冷。 — Beijing is cold today.
• 明天这里会下雨。 — It will rain here tomorrow.

会 before a weather verb commonly expresses a prediction: 会下雪 “will probably snow / is expected to snow.” However, a clear future time can sometimes be enough by itself: 明天下雨 may be understood as “It will rain tomorrow,” especially in a forecast-like context.

Frequency words normally come before the weather verb:

• 这里常常下雨。 — It often rains here.
• 北京冬天有时候下雪。 — It sometimes snows in Beijing in winter.
• 我们这里不常下雪。 — It does not often snow where we live.

With descriptive words, 不 makes a general negative: 今天不冷 “It is not cold today.” 没有下雨 usually denies a completed or observed occurrence: “It did not rain / It hasn’t rained.”

Examples in Context

Mandarin	Pinyin	English	Note
今天天气怎么样？	Jīntiān tiānqì zěnmeyàng?	How’s the weather today?	General weather question
夏天很热，冬天很冷。	Xiàtiān hěn rè, dōngtiān hěn lěng.	Summer is hot, and winter is cold.	Two descriptive predicates
外面下雨了。	Wàimiàn xià yǔ le.	It’s raining outside.	了 presents a new situation
今天不冷，也不热。	Jīntiān bù lěng, yě bù rè.	Today is neither cold nor hot.	也不 adds a second negative
春天很暖和。	Chūntiān hěn nuǎnhuo.	Spring is warm.	Neutral description with 很
秋天很凉快，我很喜欢。	Qiūtiān hěn liángkuai, wǒ hěn xǐhuan.	Autumn is pleasantly cool; I like it a lot.	凉快 usually has a pleasant sense
明天会下雪吗？	Míngtiān huì xià xuě ma?	Will it snow tomorrow?	Prediction with 会
山上已经下雪了。	Shānshang yǐjīng xià xuě le.	It has already snowed in the mountains.	已经 means “already”
今天是晴天。	Jīntiān shì qíngtiān.	Today is a clear, sunny day.	是 links to the noun 晴天
外面风很大。	Wàimiàn fēng hěn dà.	It is very windy outside.	Literally, “the wind is strong/big”
这里夏天常常下雨。	Zhèlǐ xiàtiān chángcháng xià yǔ.	It often rains here in summer.	Frequency before the verb
你最喜欢哪个季节？	Nǐ zuì xǐhuan nǎge jìjié?	Which season do you like best?	Asking for a favorite season
我最喜欢秋天，因为不太热。	Wǒ zuì xǐhuan qiūtiān, yīnwèi bú tài rè.	I like autumn best because it is not too hot.	不太 softens the negative
雨停了，我们走吧。	Yǔ tíng le, wǒmen zǒu ba.	The rain has stopped; let’s go.	A useful real-life weather update

Common Mistakes

Using 是 before a temperature word

• Wrong: 今天是很冷。
• Right: 今天很冷。
• Why: 冷 forms the predicate directly. English requires “is,” but Mandarin does not use 是 in this basic structure.

Translating English “it” as 它

• Wrong: 它下雨了。
• Right: 下雨了。 or 外面下雨了。
• Why: English weather sentences need the grammatical subject “it.” Mandarin weather expressions do not. 它 refers to an actual thing or animal, not an empty weather subject.

Treating 晴天 like an adjective

• Wrong: 今天很晴天。
• Right: 今天是晴天。 or 今天很晴朗。
• Why: 晴天 is a noun meaning “clear day,” so use 是. 晴朗 is descriptive and can follow 很.

Putting frequency after the weather verb

• Wrong: 这里下雨常常。
• Right: 这里常常下雨。
• Why: Frequency words such as 常常 usually come before the verb phrase they modify.

Assuming 很 always means strongly “very”

• Misleading translation: 冬天很冷 = “Winter is very cold” in every context.
• Better understanding: 冬天很冷 can simply mean “Winter is cold.”
• Why: In a neutral adjective sentence, 很 often makes the sentence flow naturally without adding heavy emphasis. Use 非常 or 太……了 when strong degree matters.

Adding 在 to every seasonal time phrase

• Awkward habit: always saying 在夏天，我喜欢游泳.
• Natural basic form: 夏天我喜欢游泳。
• Why: A time expression can appear directly at the start. 在夏天 is grammatical, but it is not required just because English says “in summer.”

Usage Notes

冷 and 热 describe temperature broadly. 凉快 usually suggests comfortable coolness, so it suits a pleasant evening or autumn day. 暖和 means comfortably warm. These choices convey attitude, not only a measurement.

In speech, 天气 may be omitted after the topic has been established. Someone looking outdoors might ask 外面怎么样？ “What is it like outside?” A reply can be only 很冷 or 下雨了. Mandarin often leaves out information that is already obvious from context.

Chinese-speaking regions span many climates, so broad claims such as 冬天都下雪 “It snows everywhere in winter” are unsafe. Use place words and frequency expressions: 北京冬天有时候下雪, “It sometimes snows in Beijing in winter.”

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master these distinctions at A1, but they explain forms you will encounter in forecasts and conversation.

Different kinds of “now”

正在 marks an action in progress: 外面正在下雨 “It is raining outside right now.” 下雨了 more often highlights the arrival of a new rainy situation. Both can describe current rain, but their focus differs: ongoing action versus change or current relevance.

Probability and forecasts

Forecasts use more than 会:

Form	Typical sense	Example
会	expected future event	明天会下雨。 — It will rain tomorrow.
可能	possibility	晚上可能下雪。 — It may snow tonight.
要……了	about to happen	要下雨了。 — It is about to rain.

要下雨了 is especially common when dark clouds or other evidence suggests rain is imminent.

Degrees and comparisons

Temperature can be graded with 有点儿 “a little, somewhat” (often mildly undesirable), 不太 “not very,” and 更 “even/more”:

• 今天有点儿冷。 — It is a little cold today.
• 明天不太热。 — Tomorrow will not be very hot.
• 一月比十二月更冷。 — January is colder than December.

The final example uses the later comparison pattern A 比 B + description. Notice that Mandarin does not change 冷 into a comparative form corresponding to English “colder.”

Formal weather language

Weather reports may use compounds such as 气温 “air temperature,” 降雨 “rainfall,” and 降雪 “snowfall.” Everyday conversation generally favors 冷、热、下雨、下雪. Recognize the formal terms when reading forecasts, but use the simpler forms first in conversation.

Practice Tips

1. Build sentences in three slots. Choose one time, one place, and one condition: 明天 + 北京 + 会下雪. Change one slot at a time and say the new sentence aloud.
2. Give a daily ten-second forecast. Each morning say 今天天气…… and choose 很冷、很热、很暖和、下雨了, or another suitable expression. This ties vocabulary to something observable.
3. Learn words with their structure. Record 很冷, 下雨, and 是晴天 as complete chunks. This prevents the common mistake of forcing every weather word into the same “is + adjective” pattern.

Related Concepts

• No prerequisite or downstream concepts are specified for this independent A1 topic. Useful next areas of study include time expressions, degree words, comparisons, and the change-of-state use of 了.