Esperanto does not need a meaningless equivalent of English it in “it is raining.” Weather can be presented either as an event with a subjectless verb—pluvas—or as a general condition with estas + adverb—estas varme. Once that distinction is clear, a compact set of frames can describe current conditions, forecasts, temperature, and change.
Weather events need no dummy subject
The foundational weather verbs pluvi, neĝi, hajli, tondri, and fulmi can stand without a grammatical subject. The verb ending already gives tense; there is no missing pronoun to fill.
Pluvas denove, do prenu la ombrelon.
It is raining again, so take the umbrella.
Nokte neĝis, sed la stratoj jam estas puraj.
It snowed during the night, but the streets are already clear.
Ĉu ekstere ankoraŭ fulmas kaj tondras?
Is there still lightning and thunder outside?
Morgaŭ hajlos en la montaro, laŭ la prognozo.
It will hail in the mountains tomorrow, according to the forecast.
The fixed core is the weather verb; variable slots add time, place, degree, or probability: nun pluvas, ĉi tie pluvas, forte pluvas, eble pluvos. A place phrase does not become a subject.
Ĉe la marbordo forte pluvas, sed ĉi tie nur pluvetas.
It is raining heavily on the coast, but here it is only drizzling.
Esperanto can also name the phenomenon as a noun: la pluvo komenciĝis, la neĝo degelas, forta vento blovas. That is useful when the phenomenon itself is the topic. It is not necessary merely to translate English there is.
General conditions use estas + adverb
When no noun is being described, the neutral pattern is estas varme, malvarme, sune, nube, vente, seke, humide. The -e form describes the overall situation. This follows the general Esperanto rule that a predicative description is adverbial when there is no noun-like subject for an adjective to agree with.
Estas varme en la suno, sed agrable malvarmete sub la arboj.
It is hot in the sun, but pleasantly cool under the trees.
Hodiaŭ estas nube kaj vente; ni restu interne.
Today it is cloudy and windy; let's stay inside.
— Kia estas la vetero ĉe vi? — Estas seke, sed tre malvarme.
— What is the weather like where you are? — It is dry, but very cold.
An adjective is correct when an expressed noun is being characterized: la aero estas varma, la ĉielo estas nuba, la tago estas suna, la vojo estas glacia. Compare the minimal pair:
Estas varme, sed la akvo estas malvarma.
It is warm, but the water is cold.
The first description has no nominal subject, so varme is adverbial. The second describes la akvo, so malvarma agrees with that noun. Adjective or adverb treats this broader contrast.
The noun-centered frame la vetero estas bela/malbona is also normal. It evaluates “the weather” as a topic, while estas sune directly describes the surrounding conditions. Neither frame is more grammatical; the choice reflects what is being predicated.
Temperature, wind, and precipitation
Temperature normally uses estas + cardinal number + gradoj. Add super nulo or sub nulo when the sign might not be clear. In technical or meteorological prose (formal), la temperaturo atingos... makes the measured quantity explicit.
Matene estis tri gradoj sub nulo, sed posttagmeze estos ses gradoj super nulo.
In the morning it was three degrees below zero, but in the afternoon it will be six degrees above zero.
La temperaturo atingos tridek du gradojn en la suda parto de la lando.
The temperature will reach thirty-two degrees in the southern part of the country.
For wind, use a noun with blovi or a general condition with vente. Productive adjective slots include forta, malforta, varma, malvarma, and compass-direction forms such as norda.
Blovas forta norda vento, kaj la pramoj ne veturas.
A strong northerly wind is blowing, and the ferries are not running.
Sur la ponto estas tiel vente, ke mi apenaŭ aŭdas vin.
It is so windy on the bridge that I can hardly hear you.
For precipitation, forte pluvas is neutral; pluvegas uses -eg- to intensify the event and is vivid but ordinary (informal) in conversation. Pluvas torente is more descriptive. Avoid assuming that every English weather collocation has the same literal modifiers in Esperanto.
Forecasting and degrees of certainty
A forecast can simply use the future tense: pluvos, neĝos, estos sune. Add verŝajne, eble, or a source phrase when the prediction is less categorical. Weather services often nominalize the expected phenomenon (formal): Oni prognozas pluvon or Estas atendata forta vento.
Posttagmeze verŝajne pluvos, sed vespere la ĉielo klariĝos.
It will probably rain in the afternoon, but the sky will clear in the evening.
Oni prognozas densan nebulon por la fruaj matenaj horoj.
Dense fog is forecast for the early morning hours.
Ĉu dimanĉe estos sufiĉe sune por ekskurso?
Will it be sunny enough for an outing on Sunday?
The por + period/area phrase in forecasts gives the forecast's domain—por dimanĉo, por la nordo—rather than elapsed duration. In everyday speech, laŭ la prognozo conveniently marks the information source.
Describing change
Weather reports are not limited to static labels. With -iĝ-, an adjective root becomes a change of state: varmiĝi, malvarmiĝi, nubiĝi, klariĝi. With pli, speakers can compare the new condition without claiming a completed transition.
La aero rapide malvarmiĝas; baldaŭ eble neĝos.
The air is cooling quickly; it may snow soon.
Post la pluvo la vetero pliboniĝis, kaj ni rekomencis la promenon.
After the rain the weather improved, and we resumed the walk.
La ĉielo nubiĝas, sed ankoraŭ ne pluvas.
The sky is becoming cloudy, but it is not raining yet.
Notice the different subjects and viewpoints: la aero malvarmiĝas tracks a thing; estas pli malvarme evaluates the overall setting. Both can describe the same change.
Literal and figurative weather language
Some weather words extend metaphorically, but a learner should not assume that an English idiom transfers. La etoso malvarmiĝis (“the atmosphere cooled”) is understandable and conventional; a literal translation of “under the weather,” however, does not mean “unwell.” Neutral Esperanto says mi ne fartas bone or mi estas iom malsana.
Post lia akra rimarko la etoso en la ĉambro subite malvarmiĝis.
After his sharp remark, the atmosphere in the room suddenly cooled.
Asking for the information you actually need
Kia estas la vetero? requests an overall characterization. More focused questions select a particular variable: Ĉu pluvas?, Kiom da gradoj estas?, Ĉu blovas forte?, or Kiam ĉesos neĝi?. The difference matters because a reply such as bela may be too subjective when the traveler needs to know about rain or road conditions.
— Kia estas la vetero en Helsinko? — Estas sune, sed blovas malvarma vento.
— What is the weather like in Helsinki? — It is sunny, but a cold wind is blowing.
Kiom da gradoj estos nokte, kaj ĉu la vojoj glaciiĝos?
How many degrees will it be at night, and will the roads become icy?
The quantitative question Kiom da gradoj...? contains da because it asks for a quantity of degrees. The answer does not: Estos kvin gradoj, since the cardinal directly counts the plural noun. In casual speech Kiom estas la temperaturo? is understandable, but Kiom da gradoj estas? or Kia estas la temperaturo? usually makes the requested scale clearer.
Weather also interacts with human sensation. Al mi estas malvarme means that I feel cold; Estas malvarme describes the surroundings more generally. The al phrase identifies the experiencer, not a possessor. Two people in the same room can therefore truthfully report different sensations.
Al mi estas iom malvarme; ĉu mi povas fermi la fenestron?
I feel a little cold; may I close the window?
Ekstere estas varme, sed al ŝi estas malvarme pro la febro.
It is warm outside, but she feels cold because of the fever.
Do not replace this with Mi estas malvarma unless you mean that the person or body is cold to the touch, or you deliberately describe the person's character metaphorically. The impersonal condition and the predication about a person make different claims.
Describing severity without exaggeration
Degree words attach to different kinds of weather expressions. With an adjective or adverb, use tre: tre varme, tre nuba tago. With a verb, use an adverb such as forte or dense according to the phenomenon: forte pluvas, dense neĝas. Derivational -eg- intensifies the root—pluvegas, ventegas—and is expressive (informal) rather than a precise measurement.
Ne plu pluvegas, sed ankoraŭ pluvas sufiĉe forte por prokrasti la ludon.
It is no longer pouring, but it is still raining heavily enough to postpone the match.
In an official warning (formal), measured consequences are preferable to vague drama: expected wind speed, visibility, precipitation, or risk. Everyday speakers can say terura vetero, but a forecast should distinguish observation from evaluation.
Common Mistakes
Adding English dummy it
❌ Ĝi forte pluvas ekde la mateno.
Incorrect — ĝi would refer to an actual thing; pluvi is subjectless here.
✅ Forte pluvas ekde la mateno.
It has been raining heavily since morning.
Using an adjective with no noun-like subject
❌ Hodiaŭ estas varma.
Incorrect for a general weather condition — no noun is being described.
✅ Hodiaŭ estas varme.
It is warm today.
Treating a place as the subject
❌ La urbo pluvas multe.
Incorrect — the city is not the thing doing the raining.
✅ En la urbo multe pluvas.
It rains a lot in the city.
Translating “under the weather” word for word
❌ Mi estas sub la vetero hodiaŭ.
Incorrect — this does not conventionally mean that the speaker feels ill.
✅ Mi ne fartas tre bone hodiaŭ.
I do not feel very well today.
Key Takeaways
Use weather verbs without a dummy subject: pluvas, neĝis, fulmos. Use estas + -e for an overall condition, but an adjective when an expressed noun is described: estas nube, yet la ĉielo estas nuba. Forecasts productively combine future forms with probability and source markers, while -iĝ- verbs present a change in the weather rather than a static state.
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Start learning Esperanto →Related Topics
- Impersonal VerbsB1 — Build subjectless Esperanto clauses for weather, ambient conditions, necessity, and topics without inserting English dummy it or there.
- Weather and Environmental VerbsB2 — Describe rain, snow, storms, light, temperature, and environmental change with subjectless and subjectful Esperanto verb patterns.
- Adjective or Adverb?A2 — Choose -a to describe a noun-like participant and -e to describe an action, quality, clause, infinitive, or whole situation.
- Attributive and Predicative AdjectivesA2 — Distinguish adjectives inside noun phrases from adjectives that assert a subject's or object's state, and choose agreement endings accordingly.
- A Weather ForecastA2 — Analyze a concise forecast using subjectless weather verbs, place correlatives, and future -os.