Climate and weather in Chinese - Lesson 20

In this online Chinese lesson, you will learn how to talk abouth the weather.

Contents of this lesson

1. Vocabulary

2. Grammar

3. Dialogues

4. Exercise

1. Vocabulary

This lesson consist of much new vocabulary. Take the time to learn them all befor getting immersed in the grammar and dialogues.

Words related to climate and weather

Other important words

2. Grammar

A. Comparisons with 比 ‹ bǐ ›

In Chinese, we can express comparisons of superiority or inferiority with the word 比 ‹ bǐ › that translates into English as "compared to". To use it, the sentence structure is as follows :

• 今天 比 昨天 冷。 ‹ Jīntiān bǐ zuótiān lěng. ›
  It's colder today than yesterday.  (Lit. "Today compared to yesterday, cold")

• 大卫 比 王丽 高。 ‹ Dàwèi bǐ Wáng Lì gāo. ›
  David is taller than Wang Li.
• 她 比 我 大。 ‹ Tā bǐ wǒ dà. ›
  She is older than me.

B. The superlative "most", "even more", "extremely", "very."

In Chinese grammar, the superlative is always used with the same sentence structure, whether it is a superlative of superiority like 最 ‹ zuì ›an absolute superlative like 非常 ‹ fēicháng ›. In these sentences, the superlative precedes an adjective or sometimes a verb.

• 他 最 高。 ‹ Tā zuì gāo. ›
  He is the tallest.
• 气温 比 昨天 更 低。 ‹ Qìwēn bǐ zuótiān gèng dī. ›
  The temperature is even lower than yesterday.
• 风 非常 大。 ‹ Fēng fēicháng dà. ›
  The wind is extremely strong.
• 今天 真 热。 ‹ Jīntiān zhēn rè. ›
  Today it's really hot.

The superlative of superiority 最 ‹ zuì › can be used to form nouns/subjects:

• 最 高 的 人 ‹ Zuìgāo de rén ›
  The tallest man
• 最 高 气温 ‹ Zuìgāo qìwēn ›
  The highest temperature

C. "More and more" with 越来越 ‹ yuèláiyuè ›

The use of the word 越来越 ‹ yuèláiyuè › to express "more and more" in Chinese is relatively simple:

D. The particle 了 ‹ le › to indicate the present progressive

The particle 了 ‹ le › at the end of a sentence can be used to indicate the past but also to form the present progressive or to express that an event has already started. More precisely in this lesson about climate, it is to express a change (of weather, temperature, ...).

• 天气 越来越 冷 了。 ‹ Tiānqì yuèláiyuè lěng le. ›
  The weather is becoming colder.
• 下雨 了。 ‹ Xiàyǔ le. ›
  It is raining.
  

E. Negative temperatures

To express a negative temperature in Chinese we use 零下 ‹ líng xià ›followed by the numeric value.

• 零下 二 度 ‹ Líng xià èr dù ›
  -2° (minus 2 degrees)

3. Dialogues

Dialogue N° 1

- 天气怎么样？ ‹ Tiānqì zěnmeyàng? ›
- 下雨了，有很多云。 ‹ Xià yǔ le, yǒu hěn duō yún. ›
- 有风吗？ ‹ Yǒu fēng ma? ›
- 没有，但是有一点凉。 ‹ Méi yǒu dànshì yǒu yīdiǎn liáng. ›
- 天气预报说明天是晴天。 ‹ Tiānqì yùbào shuō míngtiān shì qíngtiān. ›

Translation :

- What is the weather like?
- It's raining, there are many clouds.
- Is there wind?
- No, but it's a bit chilly.
- The weather forecasts say that tomorrow will be a sunny day.

Dialogue N° 2

- 这儿的夏天热不热？ ‹ Zhèr de xiàtiān rè bù rè? ›
- 特别热。 ‹ Tèbié rè. ›
- 冬天怎么样？ ‹ Dōngtiān zěnmeyàng? ›
- 很冷，风非常大。 ‹ Hěn lěng, fēng fēicháng dà. ›
- 春天和秋天呢？ ‹ Chūntiān hé qiūtiān ne? ›
- 这两个季节天气都不错。春天很短，常刮大风。 最好的季节是秋天。 ‹ Zhè liǎng gè jìjié tiānqì dōu bùcuò. Chūntiān hěn duǎn, cháng guā dà fēng, zuì hǎo de jìjié shì qiūtiān. ›

Translation :

- Is the summer hot here?
- Particularly hot.
- How is the winter?
- Very cold and the wind is very strong.
- And spring and fall?
- These two seasons are quite good. Spring is short and there are often high winds. The best season is autumn.

Dialogue N° 3

- 外边太阳很大， 冷不冷？ ‹ Wàimiàn tàiyáng hěn dà, lěng bù lěng? ›
- 今天真冷！今天比昨天冷。 天气越来越冷了。 ‹ Jīntiān zhēn lěng! Jīntiān bǐ zuótiān lěng. Tiānqì yuèláiyuè lěngle. ›
- 真的吗？气温有多少度？ ‹ Zhēnde ma? Qìwēn yǒu duōshǎo dù? ›
- 最高气温有3度. 最低气零下5度。 ‹ Zuì gāo qìwēn yǒu 3 dù. Zuì dī líng xià 5 dù. ›
- 天气预报说明天下雪，气温比今天更低。 ‹ Tiānqì yùbào shuō míngtiān xiàxuě, qìwēn bǐ jīntiān gèng dī. ›
- 法国的冬天比这儿的冬天暖和。 ‹ Fàguó de dōngtiān bǐ zhèr de dōngtiān nuǎnhuo. ›

Translation :

- The sun is shining outside; is it cold?
- Today it is particularly cold! It's colder than yesterday. The weather is becoming colder.
- Really? What is the temperature?
- The maximum temperature is 3°; the minimum temperature is -1 °.
- The weather forecasts say it will snow tomorrow; the temperature will be even lower than today.
- Winter in France is milder than here.

4. Exercise

Answer the following questions in Chinese and train yourself to talk about the weather:

1. 今天天气怎么样？昨天和明天呢？
2. 你的国家(country)的夏天怎么样？冬天冷不冷？春天和秋天呢？
3. 你最喜欢哪个季节？为什么呢？