Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Talk-about-the-weather
In this Chinese lesson, you will learn to talk about the weather.
It's going to be very useful when you don't know what you are going to talk about in everyday conversation.
Vocabulary[edit | edit source]
This lesson is composed of many words of vocabulary. Take the time to assimilate them before immersing yourself in grammar and dialogue.
[edit | edit source]
Word | Pinyin | Translation |
---|---|---|
天氣/天气 | tiānqì | weather (meteorology); weather |
太陽/太阳 | tàiyang | Sun |
雲/云 | yún | cloud |
雨 | yǔ | rain |
下雨 | xiàyǔ | to rain |
雪 | xuě | snow |
下雪 | xiàxuě | to snow |
刮 | guā | to blow |
風/风 | fēng | wind |
冷 | lěng | cold |
热 | rè | hot |
季節/季节 | jìjié | season |
冬天 | dōngtiān | winter |
春天 | chūntiān | spring |
夏天 | xiàtiān | summer |
秋天 | qiūtiān | autumn |
晴天 | qíngtiān | good weather |
氣溫/气温 | qìwēn | temperature |
度 | dù | degree |
天氣預報/天气预报 | tiāqì yùbào | weather forecast |
暖和 | nuǎnhuo | soft |
涼爽/凉爽 | liángshuǎng | fresh |
- tiānqì zěnmeyàng → 天氣 怎麼樣?/天气 怎么样? How is the weather?
- tiānqì rè → 天氣 熱/天气 热: It's hot.
- tiānqì lěng → 天氣 冷/天气冷: It's cold.
- qíngtiān → 晴天: bright
- yīntiān → 阴天: cloudy
- cháoshī de → 潮濕 的/潮湿 的: damp
- xiàyǔ → 下雨: rainy
- xiàxuě → 下雪: snowy
- guāfēng → 刮風/刮风: windy
- tiānqì hěnzāo → 天氣 很糟/天气 很糟: The weather's bad.
- qìwēn duōshǎo dù → 氣温 多少 度?/气温 多少 度?: What is the temperature?
- jìjié → 季節/季节: season
- dōngjì → 冬季: winter
- xiàjì → 夏季: summer
- chūnjì → 春季: spring
- qiūjì → 秋季: autumn
Other important words[edit | edit source]
Word | Pinyin | Translation |
---|---|---|
多 | duō | a lot |
高 | gāo | high; tall |
低 | dī | low |
非常 | fēicháng | very |
真 | zhēn | really; particularly |
更 | gèng | more; even more |
了 | le | (final particle of a sentence indicating the past or present progressive) |
越來越/越来越 | yuèláiyuè | more and more |
短 | duǎn | short |
不錯/不错 | bùcuò | not bad; correct |
比 | bǐ | compare to |
Grammar[edit | edit source]
The comparison with 比 <bǐ>[edit | edit source]
In Chinese, we can express the comparison of superiority or inferiority with the word 比 <bǐ> translatable in French by "with respect to". For its use, the sentence structure is as follows:
Noun 1 + 比 + Noun 2 + Adjective
今天 比 昨天 冷。 <Jīntiān bǐ zuótiān lěng. > It's colder today than yesterday. (Lit. “today compared to yesterday, cold”) ATTENTION: regarding the size, one does not use 大 <dà> in Chinese to say "big" BUT 高 <gāo> to speak about the big size. To say "small" when speaking of small size, we will use 矮 <ǎi>.
- 大衛 比 王麗 高。/大卫 比 王丽 高。 <Dàwèi bǐ Wáng Lì gāo. >
David is taller than Wang Li.
- 她 比 我 大。 <Tā bǐ wǒ dà. >
She's older than me.
The superlatives “most”, “even more”, “extremely”, “really”[edit | edit source]
In Chinese grammar, the superlative is always used with the same sentence structure, whether it is a superlative of superiority like 最 <zuì> or an absolute superlative like 非常 <fēicháng>. In these sentences, the superlative precedes an adjective or sometimes a verb.
Subject + Superlative + Adjective / Verb
WARNING: unlike French, there is no verb “to be” in the sentences composed of a superlative. In Chinese we say for example 他 最高 <tā zuì gāo> (literally “he, the greatest”) and not 他 是 最高.
- 他 最 高。 <Tā zuì gāo. >
He's the tallest.
- 今天 氣溫 比 昨天 還 低。/今天 气温 比 昨天 还 低。 <Jīntiān qìwēn bǐ zuótiān hái dī. >
The temperature today is even lower than yesterday.
- 風 非常 大。/风 非常 大。 <Fēng fēicháng dà. >
The wind is extremely strong.
- 今天 真 热。 <Jīntiān zhēn rè. >
Today is really hot.
The superlative of superiority 最 <zuì> can be used to build names / topics:
最 + Adjective (+ 的) + Objective
- 最 高 的 人 <zuìgao de ren>
The tallest man
- 最 高 氣溫/最 高 气温 <zuìgāo qìwēn>
The highest temperature
"More and more" with 越來越/越来越 <yuèláiyuè>[edit | edit source]
The use of the word y <yuèláiyuè> to express "more and more" in Chinese is relatively simple:
Subject + 越來越/越来越 + Adjective
The particle 了 ‹ le › to indicate the present progressive[edit | edit source]
The particle 了 ‹ le › placed at the very end of a sentence can be used to indicate the past but also to constitute the progressive present or indicate that an event has already begun. In this lesson on the climate, it is more precisely to indicate a change (of time, temperature, ...).
Phrase + 了.
- 天氣 越來越 冷了。/天气 越来越 冷 了。 <Tiānqì yuèláiyuè lěng le. >
The weather is getting colder.
- 下雨 了。 <Xiàyǔ le. >
It's raining.
Negative temperatures[edit | edit source]
To express a negative temperature in Chinese, we use 零下 <líng xià> followed by the numerical value.
零下 + Value + 度
- 零下 二 度 <Líng xià èr dù>
-2 ° (minus two degrees)
Sources[edit | edit source]
https://chine.in/mandarin/methode/index.php?lecon=20
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- 叫 (jiào)
- Be Polite
- Questions with 不 (bù)
- 是...的
- Future Tense
- Ask for directions in Chinese
- Plural
- 吗 ma
- Connect two nouns with 是 (shì)
- Plurals