Asking about the weather
El tiempo means the time — and also the weather. To ask what the weather is like, use hacer: ¿Qué tiempo hace?
| What's the weather like today? | ¿Qué tiempo hace hoy? |
| The weather is good today. | Hoy hace buen tiempo. |
Before a masculine noun, bueno and malo lose their -o: buen tiempo, mal tiempo.
Hace + noun
Most weather is hace + a noun. Spanish says it makes heat, not it is hot:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| hace sol | it's sunny |
| hace calor | it's hot |
| hace frío | it's cold |
| hace viento | it's windy |
| It's sunny and it's hot. | Hace sol y hace calor. |
| It's very windy on the beach. | Hace mucho viento en la playa. |
Add mucho for very: hace mucho frío — never muy frío after hace.
| In winter it's very cold. | En invierno hace mucho frío. |
Rain and snow
Llover (to rain) and nevar (to snow) only exist in the third person singular: llueve, nieva. For right now, use está + the gerund.
| It snows a lot in the north. | Nieva mucho en el norte. |
| It is snowing today. | Hoy está nevando. |
Sun, sea and snow
Good weather means bañarse (to swim, to bathe) in the sea; snow means esquiar (to ski). Esquiar carries an accent on the í: esquío, esquías, esquía.
| We swim in the sea. | Nos bañamos en el mar. |
| I ski in the mountains. | Esquío en la montaña. |
Maybe
When you are not sure, say quizá (maybe) or es posible (it is possible):
| Maybe it is cold in the mountains. | Quizá hace frío en la montaña. |
| Is it snowing today? It is possible. | ¿Nieva hoy? Es posible. |
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io
