【Learn Chinese】Talking about everyday weather in Chinese

If you want to go into more detail about what exactly the weather is like outside, you’ll need to know some of the basic weather-related vocabulary we’ve outlined in the sections below.

Fun in the sun
Who doesn’t love summer? It’s most people’s favorite season, largely due to the warm, sunny weather. If you’re struggling to tell your Chinese-speaking friends about the amazing weather you experienced during your most recent tropical beach vacation, the following list of words and phrases should be just what you need.
太阳 (tàiyáng) - sun
晴朗 (qínglǎng) - sunny; fine (weather)
今天天气晴朗。(Jīntiān tiānqì qínglǎng) - The weather today is fine/sunny.
蓝天白云 (lántiān báiyún) - "blue skies and white clouds;" used to refer to nice weather
太阳很晒 (tàiyáng hěn shài) - the sun is (uncomfortably) strong/bright
太阳很大 (tàiyáng hěn dà) - the sun is really strong/bright (literally "the sun is really big")
晒太阳 (shài tàiyáng) - to sun oneself; get some sun
晒黑了 (shàihēi) - to sunbathe; to tan
晒伤 (shàishāng) - to get sunburnt
热 (rè) - hot
暖和 (nuǎnhuo) – warm

Rain, rain, go away
Of course, it can’t be sunny all the time. The following words and phrases are useful for talking about the weather on rainy days:
雨 (yǔ) - rain
下雨 (xiàyǔ) - to rain
雷雨 (léiyǔ) - thunderstorm
打雷 (dǎléi) - to rumble with thunder
雷声 (léishēng) - thunderclap
闪电 (shǎndiàn) - lightening
暴雨 (bàoyǔ) - torrential rain; rainstorm
毛毛雨 (máomaoyǔ) - drizzle
雾 (wù) - fog; mist
多云 (duōyún) - cloudy
阴天 (yīntiān) - overcast
一滩水 (yī tān shuǐ) - a puddle
滑 (huá) - slippery

Winter wonderland
In southern China, there are still many people who have never seen snow. However, if you live in a northern Chinese city like Harbin, home of China’s famous ice festival, snow is likely a weekly if not a daily occurrence throughout much of the year. If it’s not snowing, there’s still usually plenty of cold and icy weather to discuss.
雪 (xuě) - snow
下雪 (xiàxuě) - to snow
雪堆 (xuěduī) - snow drift; snow bank
冰雹 (bīngbáo) - hail
冰 (bīng) - ice
结冰 (jiébīng) - to freeze
融化 (rónghuà) - to thaw
解冻 (jiědòng) - to thaw
冰溜 (bīngliù) - icicle
冷 (lěng) - cold; chilly
寒冷 (hánlěng) - cold; frigid