Learn how to talk about basic weather conditions
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| Welcome to Can-Do German by GermanPod101.com. |
| In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about weather conditions in German. |
| For example, "It's sunny." is |
| Es ist sonnig. |
| Aylin Ahrens is in sunny Berlin. |
| She’s on a long-distance call with Miriam Muller , her former colleague, who asks about the current weather. |
| Before you hear their conversation, let's preview some of its key components. |
| Wetter |
| "weather" |
| Wetter |
| Wetter |
| sonnig |
| "sunny" |
| sonnig |
| sonnig |
| Listen to the conversation, and focus on the response. |
| Ready? |
| Wie ist das Wetter? |
| Es ist sonnig. |
| Once more with the English translation. |
| Wie ist das Wetter? |
| "How's the weather?" |
| Es ist sonnig. |
| "It's sunny." |
| Let's break down the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Miriam asks, |
| "How's the weather?" |
| Wie ist das Wetter? |
| First is wie, translating as "how" in this context. Wie. Wie. |
| Next is ist, "is." Ist. Ist. |
| Ist is from the verb, sein, "to be." Sein. |
| Next is das Wetter, "the weather." das Wetter. |
| Let’s start with Wetter, "weather." Wetter. Wetter. |
| In German, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Wetter is neuter and singular — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence. |
| Before Wetter is the article das. Think of it like "the" in English. Das. Das. |
| Das is also neuter and singular to agree with Wetter. |
| Together, das Wetter, "the weather." das Wetter. |
| All together, it’s Wie ist das Wetter? "How is the weather?" |
| Wie ist das Wetter? |
| Let’s take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how Aylin says, |
| "It’s sunny?" |
| Es ist sonnig. |
| This starts with es, "it." Es. Es. |
| Next is ist, "is." Ist. |
| Ist is from the verb sein, meaning "to be." Sein. |
| Last is sonnig, "sunny." Sonnig. Sonnig. |
| All together, it’s Es ist sonnig. This literally means "It is sunny," or "It’s sunny." |
| Es ist sonnig. |
| The pattern is |
| Es ist WEATHER CONDITION. |
| "It’s WEATHER CONDITION." |
| Es ist WEATHER CONDITION. |
| To use this pattern, simply replace the {WEATHER CONDITION} placeholder with the current weather condition. |
| Note: This pattern requires an adjective. |
| Imagine it's cloudy, bewölkt. "Cloudy." Bewölkt. Bewölkt. |
| Say |
| "It's cloudy." |
| Ready? |
| Es ist bewölkt. |
| "It's cloudy." |
| Es ist bewölkt. |
| When talking about the weather, it’s common to use impersonal verbs in German. Impersonal verbs are verbs without a fully stated subject and which are conjugated in the third person singular. |
| For example,"It’s snowing," Es schneit. |
| Es schneit, literally, "It snows," but translates as "It’s snowing." Es schneit. |
| Schneit is the third person singular from the verb schneien, "to snow." Schneien. |
| Note, impersonal verbs are usually accompanied by es. |
| Pay attention. You’ll see another example of this pattern shortly. |
| Again, the key pattern is |
| Es ist WEATHER CONDITION. |
| "It’s WEATHER CONDITION." |
| Es ist WEATHER CONDITION. |
| Let's look at some examples. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers. |
| Es ist sonnig. |
| "It's sunny." |
| Es ist sonnig. |
| Es ist bewölkt. |
| "It's cloudy." |
| Es ist bewölkt. |
| Es ist windig. |
| "It's windy." |
| Es ist windig. |
| Es ist neblig. |
| "It's foggy." |
| Es ist neblig. |
| Es regnet. |
| "It's raining." |
| Es regnet. |
| Did you notice how the last speaker used a different phrase? |
| Es regnet. |
| "It's raining." |
| First is es, "it." Es. |
| Next is regnet, "rains," as in "It rains." Regnet. Regnet. |
| Regnet is from the verb regnen, "to rain." Regnen. |
| Together it's es regnet, literally "it rains," but it translates as "It’s raining." Es regnet. |
| Let's have a look at another example, es schneit, literally "it snows," but translates as "It’s snowing." Es schneit. |
| First is es, "it." Es. |
| Next is schneit, "snows." Schneit. Schneit. |
| Schneit is from the verb schneien, "to snow." Schneien. |
| Together it's es schneit, literally "it snows," but it translates as "It’s snowing." Es schneit. |
| Let’s review the new words. |
| Bewölkt. |
| "Cloudy." |
| Bewölkt. |
| Bewölkt. |
| Winding. |
| "Windy." |
| Windig. |
| Windig. |
| Neblig. |
| "Misty." |
| Neblig. |
| Neblig. |
| Es regnet. |
| "It’s raining." |
| Es regnet. |
| Es regnet. |
| Regnen. |
| "To rain." |
| Regnen. |
| Regnen. |
| Schneien. |
| "To snow." |
| Schneien. |
| Schneien. |
| Let's review. |
| Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Ready? |
| Do you remember how to say "sunny?" |
| sonnig |
| sonnig |
| And how to say "it?" |
| es |
| es |
| Do you remember how Aylin Ahrens says, |
| "It’s sunny." |
| Es ist sonnig. |
| Es ist sonnig. |
| Do you remember how to say "weather?" |
| Wetter |
| Wetter |
| And how to say "the weather?" |
| das Wetter |
| das Wetter |
| Do you remember how Miriam asks, |
| "How's the weather?" |
| Wie ist das Wetter? |
| Wie ist das Wetter? |
| Do you remember how to say |
| "It’s raining." |
| Es regnet. |
| Es regnet. |
| And how to say "cloudy?" |
| bewölkt |
| bewökt |
| Do you remember how to say "windy?" |
| windig |
| windig |
| Let's practice. |
| Imagine you’re Aylin Ahrens , and you’re in Berlin, where the weather is cloudy, or bewölkt in German. |
| Ready? |
| Wie ist das Wetter? |
| Es ist bewölkt. |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Es ist bewölkt. |
| Es ist bewölkt. |
| Let's try another. |
| Imagine you're Miriam Muller , and it’s sunny, or sonnig, in Stuttgart. |
| Ready? |
| Wie ist das Wetter? |
| Es ist sonnig. |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Es ist sonnig. |
| Es ist sonnig. |
| Let’s try one more. |
| Imagine you’re Arnold 's friend, Marvin Maas , and it rains, or es regnet in Hamburg. |
| Ready? |
| Wie ist das Wetter? |
| Es regnet. |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Es regnet. |
| Es regnet. |
| In this lesson, you learned how to talk about weather in German. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of talking about the weather. Let’s review. |
| Do you remember how to say “hot,”? |
| heiß |
| heiß |
| Do you remember how Aylin Ahrens says, |
| "It's hot, isn't it?" |
| Es ist heiß, oder? |
| Es ist heiß, oder? |
| Imagine you're Jack Jones , and it's cold outside. |
| Do you remember how to say "cold" in German? |
| kalt |
| kalt |
| Now, tell your friend that it's cold. |
| Es ist kalt, oder? |
| Ja, es ist kalt. |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Es ist kalt, oder? |
| Es ist kalt, oder? |
| On a different occasion you're traveling in the mountains and talking with your friend on the phone. Your friend asks how the weather is, and it's windy. |
| Do you remember how to say "windy" in German? |
| windig |
| windig |
| Respond to your friend and say it's windy. |
| Wie ist das Wetter? |
| Es ist windig. |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Es ist windig. |
| Es ist windig. |
| Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Talk About the Weather unit of this course. |
| Remember these Can-Do lessons are about learning practical language skills. |
| What’s next? |
| Show us what you can do. |
| When you're ready, take your assessment. |
| You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like. |
| Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results. |
| Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson! |
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