German course

Lesson 59 of 240

New here? This is lesson 59 of a free 240-lesson German course.

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Hot, cold, rainy in German

Priya walks into Bäckerei Krause in her rust-orange raincoat. The pavement on Fliederstraße is dry, but she dressed for rain anyway.

Anton sits at the corner table. He starts a line about the weather, then loses the thread, as he does.

By the end, you'll ask what the weather is like, and say it's hot, cold, rainy, or windy.

You'll also have a short line for a nice day: Schönes Wetter heute.

By the end of this lesson

Ask about today's weather and say if it is hot, cold, rainy, or windy.

  • Wie ist das Wetter?What's the weather like?
  • Es ist heiß.It's hot.
  • Es ist kalt.It's cold.
  • Es regnet.It's raining.
  • Es ist windig.It's windy.
  • Schönes Wetter heute.Nice weather today.

Scene — the raincoat

Priya pushes the bakery door in her raincoat. The pavement outside is dry. No rain.

Renate is at the counter. Anton sits on two chairs at the corner table, Milchkaffee untouched, and starts a weather sentence he will not finish.

Priya pushes the bakery door open as Renate stands at the counter and Anton sits at the corner table.

Learn — hot, cold, rain, wind

Six short lines cover today's weather: a question, hot, cold, rain, wind, and a nice-day line.

Learn each as one piece. You'll use them at the bakery door.

  1. Renate greets Priya at the counter with a warm, open gesture.

    Wie ist das Wetter?

    What's the weather like?

    When to use it: Ask this when you want to know today's weather.

    Learn it as one piece to ask about today.

    Say it: Wetter ends in a weak -er, not a hard r.

  2. Priya looks toward Renate with an inquisitive expression and a small raised-hand gesture.

    Es ist heiß.

    It's hot.

    When to use it: Say this when the day feels hot.

    Learn it as one piece for a hot day.

  3. Anton looks toward Priya by the door while the pavement outside remains dry.

    Es ist kalt.

    It's cold.

    When to use it: Say this when the day feels cold.

    Learn it as one piece for a cold day.

  4. Renate gestures toward the bright, dry street from beside the counter.

    Es regnet.

    It's raining.

    When to use it: Say this when rain is falling now.

    Learn it as one piece when rain is falling.

  5. Anton pauses over his untouched Milchkaffee as he struggles to continue a weather thought.

    Es ist windig.

    It's windy.

    When to use it: Say this when the wind is blowing hard.

    Learn it as one piece for a windy day.

    Say it: Windig puts the stress on the first syllable.

  6. Anton looks down toward his untouched Milchkaffee and leaves the thought unfinished.

    Schönes Wetter heute.

    Nice weather today.

    When to use it: Say this to comment on a nice day.

    Learn it as one piece to praise a nice day.

    Say it: Schönes starts with sch, like the sh in shoe.

Story — he never finishes

Watch Priya arrive in her raincoat on a dry, windy morning. Anton never quite finishes his weather line.

The highlighted words are the lines you just learned. Turn on Show English if you need it.

  1. Priya comes in wearing her raincoat. The pavement is dry.
  2. RenateGuten Morgen.Good morning.
  3. PriyaGuten Morgen.Good morning.
  4. PriyaWie ist das Wetter?What's the weather like?
  5. RenateEs ist windig.It's windy.
  6. Anton looks at her raincoat and guesses.
  7. AntonEs regnet.It's raining.
  8. RenateSchönes Wetter heute.Nice weather today.
  9. He starts a weather line, then loses the thread.
  10. AntonEs ist heiß.It's hot.
  11. AntonEs ist kalt.It's cold.
  12. AntonNa, das Wetter ist...Well, the weather is...
  13. He looks at his Milchkaffee and does not go on.

Practice — today's weather

Ten quick exercises wait here. You'll listen, pick, match, fill a gap, and build a line.

They stay tiny, so the round moves fast.

0 of 10 done

  1. What did you hear?

  2. Match the pairs

    German

    Es ist heiß.Drop the English here
    Es ist kalt.Drop the English here
    Es ist windig.Drop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its German, or tap one and then the other.

  3. What do you say?

    You look outside. Rain is falling. Say so.

  4. What does it mean?

    Schönes Wetter heute.

  5. Fill the gap

    It's hot.

    Es ist ____.

  6. Swap the word

    It feels cold this morning. Say so.

    Es ist ____.

  7. Build the line

    What's the weather like?

    ?

    Tap the words in order.

  8. What do you say?

    The trees are moving hard. Say it is windy.

  9. Pick the reply

    Renate says:

    Wie geht's?

    How are you?

    And you reply with:

  10. What do you say?

    It is morning. Greet Renate at the bakery door.

Say it — say the weather

Now you're Priya at the bakery in your raincoat. When it's your turn, tap the microphone and speak the line.

Tap ▶ first if you want to hear the line. Your recording stays on your device.

  1. RenateGuten Morgen.Good morning.
  2. Priya (you)Ask her what the weather is like.

    Wie ist das Wetter?

    What's the weather like?

0 of 3 said

Recap — what you can say now

GermanEnglish
Wie ist das Wetter?What's the weather like?
Es ist heiß.It's hot.
Es ist kalt.It's cold.
Es regnet.It's raining.
Es ist windig.It's windy.
Schönes Wetter heute.Nice weather today.
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Keep practicing with Yak Cards

Want to keep today's weather handy? Grab the Yak Cards for this lesson and review them anywhere.

A quick round with the Yak Cards each day keeps hot, cold, and rain ready.

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