Mission—Team—FAQ—Privacy—Terms—Sponsors—Grammar—Typing Course—Donate

© 2026 Elon Automation B.V.

Learn Hardcore Russian: Каково на улице? - What is it like outside?

Hardcore Russian
/Disputing an incorrect utility bill
/Каково на улице?

Каково на улице?

Word

Каково на улице?

Meaning

What is it like outside?

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Russian

Lesson

Disputing an incorrect utility bill

Breakdown of Каково на улице?

what is ... like?

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Russian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Russian now

Questions & Answers about Каково на улице?

What does каково mean in this sentence?

Here каково means something like what is it like or how is it. So Каково на улице? is asking about the general conditions outside.

This is an impersonal way of speaking. English usually needs a subject like it, but Russian often does not. So the idea is basically What’s it like outside?

Why is it каково and not just как?

Каково is a more specific, somewhat more literary or formal way to ask what is it like?

Compare:

Как на улице? = How is it outside? / What’s it like outside?
- more conversational
Каково на улице? = What is it like outside?
- a bit more formal, reflective, or bookish

So both are understandable, but каково has a slightly different tone.

Is Каково на улице? natural Russian?

Yes, it is correct and understandable, but it is not the most everyday casual phrasing.

In ordinary conversation, Russians might more often say:

Как на улице?
Какая погода на улице?
Что там на улице? in some contexts

So Каково на улице? sounds a little more elevated or stylistically marked than the most basic spoken version.

What does на улице mean here?

Literally, на улице means on the street, but very often in Russian it simply means outside or outdoors.

So in this sentence, it does not necessarily mean you are asking specifically about a street. It means the outdoor conditions in general.

Why is it улице and not улица?

Because на here means in/on/at in the sense of location, and that requires the prepositional case.

So:

dictionary form: улица
after на for location: на улице

This is a very common pattern:

на столе = on the table
на работе = at work
на улице = outside / on the street

Is there an omitted word in the sentence, like it or the weather?

Yes and no.

There is no missing Russian word that must be added. The sentence is complete as it is. But compared with English, Russian is leaving out the kind of dummy subject that English needs, such as it in What’s it like outside?

Also, the weather is not explicitly mentioned. If you wanted to ask specifically about the weather, you would say:

Какая погода на улице? = What is the weather like outside?

So Каково на улице? is broader than just weather.

What kind of answers would this question normally get?

Usually short descriptions of the conditions outside, for example:

Холодно. = It’s cold.
Тепло. = It’s warm.
Ветрено. = It’s windy.
Дождливо. = It’s rainy.
Скользко. = It’s slippery.
Там хорошо. = It’s nice out there.
Неприятно. = It’s unpleasant.

So the question invites a general description, not just one fixed type of answer.

What is the grammatical role of каково?

Каково is related to каков, which is a word meaning what kind is it? or what is it like?

In this sentence, каково functions as a predicative word in an impersonal construction. You do not need to identify an explicit subject. Russian can simply say the equivalent of What’s it like outside? without saying it.

For a learner, the most useful thing is to recognize каково here as a set expression meaning what is it like?

How is this different from Какая погода на улице?

Какая погода на улице? asks specifically about the weather.

Каково на улице? is wider and can include:

temperature
wind
rain or snow
how pleasant or unpleasant it feels
even general outdoor conditions

So if you only want weather, Какая погода на улице? is more direct. If you want the overall feel of being outside, Каково на улице? works well.

Where is the stress in this sentence?

каковó
у́лице

So the whole sentence is pronounced:

Каковó на у́лице?

This matters because Russian stress is not always predictable, and каково is stressed on the final -о.

Can the word order change?

Yes, Russian word order is flexible, but the neutral order here is Каково на улице?

You could hear something like:

На улице каково?

but that sounds more marked, as if emphasizing outside in contrast with somewhere else.

For a learner, the standard and safest version is:

Каково на улице?

Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io