Describing The Weather In Spanish
Learn Spanish: Describing the Weather in Spanish
This learn Spanish grammar lesson goes over describing the weather in Spanish. In Spanish, certain weather expressions are idiomatic expressions formed with the verb Hacer, some are normal expressions formed by the verb Estar + adjective, and then there are some formed with a single Spanish verb.
Hacer
Hacer normally means to do or to make. However, hacer used idiomatically for the weather takes on the meaning: it is. Here is a list of idiomatic weather expressions with hacer:
| ¿Qué tiempo hace? |
What's the weather like? |
| Hace buen tiempo. |
It's nice out. (The weather is good). |
| Hace mal tiempo. |
It's bad out. (The weather is bad). |
| Hace calor. |
It's warm. |
| Hace frío. |
It's cold . |
| Hace viento. |
It's windy. |
| Hace sol. |
It's sunny. |
| Hace fresco. |
It's cool. |
Note that the literal meaning of these phrases using hace is:
It makes + a noun.
So, for example, hace frío would literally mean it makes cold. However, the translation, or true meaning, is It's cold.
Estar
Estar means to be. That said, there are certain expressions that use estar + an adjective. For example:
| ¿Cómo está el tiempo? |
How's the weather? |
| Está nublado. |
It's cloudy. |
| Está lloviendo. |
It's raining. |
| Está nevando. |
It's snowing. |
| Está húmido. |
It's humid. |
Single Verbs
There are, of course, ways to express the weather with specific verbs that will always be conjugated in the 3rd-person singular. For example:
| llover (to rain) |
Llueve mucho en Seattle. |
It rains a lot in Seattle. |
| nevar (to snow) |
Siempre nieva en Nueva York. |
It always snows in New York. |
|
