Learn Hardcore Dutch: Het is zonnig vandaag.

In this sentence, het is a dummy pronoun acting as an impersonal subject. Dutch, like English, uses “it” to talk about weather conditions. There’s no specific noun that het refers to; it simply fills the subject position so you can say “it is sunny.”

Why doesn’t zonnig take an -e ending here, as adjectives sometimes do?

In Dutch, adjectives used predicatively (after a form of zijn like is) remain in their base form. You only add -e when an adjective is attributive—directly modifying a noun with a definite article or in certain gender/case contexts (e.g. de zonnige dag vs. Het is zonnig).

Can I say Vandaag is het zonnig instead? Where can I place vandaag?

Yes. Dutch allows you to move time adverbs like vandaag to the front for emphasis: Vandaag is het zonnig focuses on today. You can also say Het is vandaag zonnig, which is neutral. The V2 word-order rule in Dutch places the finite verb (here is) in second position, so moving vandaag to the front shifts is to slot two.

Do I need to use weer in this sentence, like Het is zonnig weer vandaag?

No, you don’t need weer (“weather”) because zonnig alone expresses the condition. Saying Het is zonnig weer vandaag isn’t wrong, but it sounds redundant—similar to English “It is sunny weather today.” Native speakers typically omit weer in such simple weather statements.

How do I pronounce zonnig correctly?

Zonnig is pronounced approximately /ˈzɔ.nɪx/. Notes:
• z sounds like the z in “zoo.”
• o is like the o in “for” (but shorter).
• nn indicates a geminated “n” sound, though in rapid speech it may be a single “n.”
• ig at the end is a guttural sound similar to the “ch” in Scottish “loch.”

How do I turn this into a question (“Is it sunny today?”) in Dutch?

You invert subject and verb: Is het zonnig vandaag? This follows the V2 rule but inverts for a yes/no question. You could also say Vandaag is het zonnig? with a rising intonation after fronting vandaag.

How do you form the comparative or superlative of zonnig (e.g. sunnier)?

Most Dutch adjectives form the comparative with -er and the superlative with -st, so zonnig → zonniger (more sunny) → zonnigst (most sunny). However, speakers often prefer meer zonnig and meest zonnig for clarity, especially if zonniger sounds awkward.

Why is vandaag not capitalized in Het is zonnig vandaag?

In Dutch only the first word of a sentence and proper nouns are capitalized. vandaag is an adverb (not a name), so it stays lowercase when it appears mid-sentence.