Don’t know how to get a conversation rolling? Or stuck in awkward silence with an Italian person? Easy! Start talking about the weather! This article will help you talk about the weather with ease with a list of Italian words and phrases about the weather.
Knowing how to discuss the weather can also be quite helpful on your trip to Italy. Italian weather can vary a lot so it helps to be prepared.
“What’s the weather like?” in Italian
A lot of good conversations and ice breakers begin with this question. Here are the different ways to say it in Italian.
| Com’ è il tempo? | What’s the weather? |
| Che tempo fa oggi? | What's the weather like? |
| Che tempo fa fuori? | What's it like outside? |
If you want to be more specific and detailed about the type of weather you’re having, you can ask for the forecast. It will be a great way to help you plan your activities accordingly!
| Quali sono le previsioni del tempo per oggi? | What's the weather forecast for today? |
| Quali sono le previsioni del tempo per questa settimana? | What's the weather forecast for this week? |
How to talk about good weather in Italian
Is it sunny out? Is the sky so blue that all your problems seem to disappear when you look up? Does it make you feel like shouting “Guarda quel bel cielo blu!” (look at that beautiful blue sky!”)?
During wonderful days like this, here’s how to describe the weather in Italian.
| C’è bel tempo. | It’s good/ beautiful weather |
| Fa bel tempo | It's nice out |
| È piacevole. | It's nice. |
| È soleggiato. | It’s sunny. |
| C'e il sole | It's sunny out |
| È sereno. | It’s clear |
| E' una giornata piacevole | it's a lovely day |
| E' bello e caldo oggi | It’s nice and warm today |
To strike up a conversation about the good weather, you can say, “ It's sunny day, isn't it?”
If the weather’s not nice…
You can say these instead.
| Fa cattivo tempo. | It's bad/ miserable weather. |
| il maltempo | bad weather |
| È brutto tempo | It’s ugly weather |
| Fa brutto tempo | Its ugly out |
| Fa un tempo orribile. | It's terrible weather. |
To make things more specific, say:
| C’è la nebbia. | It's foggy. |
| È nuvoloso. | It’s cloudy. |
| C’è vento! | It’s windy! |
| È ventoso. | It's windy. |
| È un giorno umido! | It’s a humid day! |
| È umido. | It's humid. |
| È una giornata uggiosa. | It’s a gloomy day. |
| E' afoso, C'e afa | It’s muggy |
How to say “it’s raining” in Italian
When it’s pouring out, it can be a great excuse to stay at home, sip on some caffè macchiato (or two), and catch up on your Italian lessons.
Here’s how to tell people in Italian that it’s raining.
| Piove. | It’s raining. |
| Sta piovendo. | It’s raining. |
| Sta piovendo a secchiate! | It’s raining buckets! |
| C'è una pioggia scrosciante | it's pouring |
| Sta diluviando | It’s pouring |
| Piove tutto il giorno | it's been raining all day |
How to say “it’s hot” in Italian
Some days are just scorching hot while some are freezing cold! To express your frustration of these extreme temperatures, here’s what to say.
| Fa veramente caldo, non è vero? | It's pretty hot, isn't it? |
| Fa caldo | It's hot out |
| È una giornata calda | It’s a hot day |
| Fa caldissimo. | It's very hot. |
| Si muore dal caldo qui dentro! | It's way too hot in here! |
| Caldo afoso, soffocante | stifling heat |
| Fa un caldo terribile! | It’s terribly hot! |
You can also use an idiomatic expression to express just how hot it is. Say: Il sole spacca le pietre! (the sun is splitting the rocks!)
How to say “it’s cold” in Italian
| Fa fresco. | It’s cool out. |
| Fa freddo | It’s cold. |
| È un po’ freddo | It’s a little bit cold |
| È freddissimo. | It's icy. |
| Fa freddissimo. | It's very icy. |
| Qui si gela | It’s freezing cold here |
Quick tip:
If you want to exaggerate a bit how hot or cold it is, you can say “Fa un freddo/un caldo da morire!” (it’s deadly cold/ hot!)
How to say “it’s snowing” in Italian
Is it snowy outside? As the world outside turns into a snowy wonderland, you can say with glee, “Sta nevicando!”
Other examples:
| Sta nevicando oggi. | It’s snowing today. |
| Nevicava ieri. | It was snowing yesterday |
| Nevicava ieri sera. | It was snowing yesterday evening. |
How to talk about extreme weather conditions in Italian
Weather it’s a storm, a blizzard, or a hurricane, extreme weather can be quite scary for everyone! Quickly, hide inside your house and wait it out! For the meantime, you can practice saying these in Italian:
| È tempestoso | It’s stormy |
| C’è il temporale. | There is a storm. |
| Troppi tuoni e fulmini! | Too much thunder and lightning! |
| Ci aspettiamo un uragano | We are expecting a hurricane |
| Stiamo avendo una tormenta! | We’re having a blizzard |
| Abbiamo un'ondata di calore | we are having a heatwave |
Italian Weather Vocabulary
Now let’s wrap it up by going through this list of Italian words about the weather.
| Weather | Tempo |
| Climate | Clima |
| Temperature | Temperatura |
| Wind | Vento |
| Sun | Sole |
| Rain | Pioggia |
| Snow | Neve |
| Fog | Nebbia |
| Hail | Grandine |
| Ice | Ghiaccio / Gelo |
| Clear sky | Cielo sereno |
| Sunbeam | Raggio di sole |
| Clouds | Nuvole |
| Storm | Temporale |
| Lightning | Fulmine |
| Cold | Freddo |
| Freezing | Gelido |
| Hot | Caldo |
| Humid | Umido |
| Dry | Seco |
| Cloudy | Nuvoloso |
| Windy | Ventoso |
| Rainy | Piovoso |
| Muggy | Afoso / Soffocante |
!
Quick Note:
The weather is expressed with the verb FARE. Example: Fa bel tempo. --It's beautiful weather.
When you are referring to climate, use ESSERE. Example: Il caldo e' insopportabile. ---The heat is unbearable.
Conclusion
Whether you are travelling to Italy and would like to keep abreast of the weather, or you simply want to learn how to discuss the weather in Italian, we hope that this article was able to help you.
If you want to learn more Italian vocabulary, check out Italian Short Stories. It will help you expand your vocabulary through interesting stories with audio!
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