French uses 'faire' for most weather expressions: il fait beau = the weather is nice. The 'il' is impersonal — like English 'it' in 'it's raining'.
General weather (il fait...)
| French | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Il fait beau. | The weather is nice. | |
| Il fait mauvais. | The weather is bad. | |
| Il fait chaud. | It's hot. | |
| Il fait froid. | It's cold. | |
| Il fait frais. | It's cool / chilly. | |
| Il fait doux. | It's mild. | |
| Il fait soleil. | It's sunny. | Also: il y a du soleil. |
| Il fait du vent. | It's windy. | |
| Il fait jour. | It's daylight. | |
| Il fait nuit. | It's dark / night-time. |
Precipitation (il + verb)
| French | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Il pleut. | It's raining. | Verb: pleuvoir. |
| Il neige. | It's snowing. | Verb: neiger. |
| Il gèle. | It's freezing. | |
| Il grêle. | It's hailing. | |
| Il pleut à verse. | It's pouring. |
Sky and conditions
| French | English |
|---|---|
| le soleil | the sun |
| le nuage | the cloud |
| le ciel | the sky |
| la pluie | the rain |
| la neige | the snow |
| le vent | the wind |
| l'orage (m) | the storm |
| le brouillard | the fog |
| nuageux / nuageuse | cloudy |
| ensoleillé / ensoleillée | sunny |
| pluvieux / pluvieuse | rainy |
Useful questions
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Quel temps fait-il ? | What's the weather like? |
| Il fait quelle température ? | What's the temperature? |
| Il fait vingt degrés. | It's 20 degrees. |
| Il fait moins cinq. | It's minus 5. |
Tips to memorize this list faster
- Most weather expressions use 'il fait + adjective'. The 'il' has no real meaning.
- Rain and snow have their own verbs: pleuvoir → il pleut, neiger → il neige. Don't say 'il fait pleut'.
- Temperature uses 'il fait + number + degrés'. Below zero: il fait moins dix.
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