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
This lesson is composed of many words of vocabulary. Take the time to assimilate them before immersing yourself in grammar and dialogue.
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 | snow |
刮 | guā | blow |
風/风 | fēng | wind |
冷 | lěng | cold |
热 | rè | hot |
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 |
氣温/气温 | qìwēn | temperature |
度 | dù | degree |
預報/预报 | yùbào | weather forecast |
暖和 | nuǎnhuo | soft |
涼/凉 | liáng | fresh |
Other important words
Word | Pinyin | Translation |
---|---|---|
多 | duō | a lot |
高 | gāo | high (adj.); high; tall (height) |
低 | dī | low (adj.) |
非常 | fēicháng | extremely |
真 | zhēn | really; particularly |
更 | gèng | more; 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; short |
不錯/不错 | bùcuò | not bad; correct |
比 | bǐ | compared to |
Grammar
The comparison with 比 <bǐ>
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:
N1 + 比 + N2 + Adj.
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"
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.
S + Superlative + Adj. / V
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 biggest.
- 气温 比 昨天 更 低. <Qìwēn bǐ zuótiān gèng dī. >
The temperature is even lower than yesterday.
- 风 非常 大. <Fēng fēicháng dà. >
The wind is extremely strong.
- 今天 真 热. <Jīntiān zhēn Re. >
Today is really hot.
The superlative of superiority 最 <zuì> can be used to build names / topics:
最 + Adj. (+ 的) + O
- 最 高 的 人 <Zuìgao of Ren>
The tallest man
- 最 高 气温 <Zuìgāo qìwēn>
The highest temperature
"More and more" with 越来越 <yuèláiyuè>
The use of the word y <yuèláiyuè> to express "more and more" in Chinese is relatively simple:
S + 越来越 + Adj.
The particle 了 ‹ le › to indicate the present progressive
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
To express a negative temperature in Chinese, we use 零下 <líng xià> followed by the numerical value.
零下 + Val. Num. + 度
- 零下 二 度 <Líng xià èr dù>
-2 ° (minus two degrees)