Questions & Answers about L'hiver est souvent rude ici.
Why is rude used here? Doesn't it mean "impolite" like in English?
Rude is a partial false friend. While it can sometimes mean "impolite" or "rough" when talking about people, when applied to weather, climates, or physical tasks, it means "harsh," "severe," or "tough." You will very frequently see it paired with winter (un hiver rude) to describe bitter cold and difficult conditions.
In English we just say "Winter," so why does French require the article L' in L'hiver?
In French, when you make a broad, general statement about a concept, category, or season, you must use the definite article (le, la, les, l'). Because the speaker is talking about winter in general (specifically in this location), l' is required. Leaving it out and starting with just Hiver est... is grammatically incorrect in French.
Could I put souvent before the verb, like L'hiver souvent est rude, to match the English word order?
No, that sounds very unnatural in French. Short adverbs of frequency like souvent (often) almost always go immediately after the conjugated verb (est). However, if you want to emphasize the frequency, you are allowed to place it at the very beginning of the sentence with a comma: Souvent, l'hiver est rude ici.