Use the weather to begin a real conversation

You are about to leave a café, but your friend has just come in from outside. You want to ask whether it is raining and whether you need your umbrella. You do not need an entire weather forecast to have that conversation. A question, a clear description and one follow-up are enough.

This lesson teaches everyday polite weather expressions. By the end, you should be able to ask what it is like outside, understand a few common replies, and suggest a simple plan. The examples describe imagined situations; they are not today’s forecast for Korea.

If you are still learning the letters, begin with your first Hangul syllables. You can then return here and listen to each complete expression. Try the default slow playback first, and use the nearby speed menu if you need more time. Learn the Korean sound together with the meaning instead of trying to pronounce an English spelling of it.

Build a three-part exchange

날씨 means “weather,” and 오늘 means “today.” In 날씨가 어때요?, 가 marks 날씨 as the subject, while 어때요 asks how something is. Treat the whole question as your first reusable chunk.

In the reply, Korean does not need a separate word corresponding to the English dummy subject “it.” 비가 와요. literally has rain as its subject and uses the verb 오다, “come.” In this weather expression, the natural English translation is “It is raining.” Translating each word separately would hide the ordinary meaning.

The short question 우산 있어요? means “Do you have an umbrella?” in this conversation. It can also ask whether an umbrella is available in another setting. Korean often leaves the possessor unspoken when the situation makes it clear. For now, learn what the question does here, rather than assigning it one translation for every possible context.

Choose the condition you can actually describe

You can combine two observations without learning a long connecting pattern: 흐려요. 바람이 불어요. — “It is cloudy. The wind is blowing.” Two clear sentences are more useful than an ambitious sentence whose ending you cannot finish.

Choose a small first set: 추워요, 더워요 and 비가 와요. Hide the English column and say what each one means. Add the remaining expressions after you can recognise those three. Do not treat 맑아요 and 따뜻해요 as synonyms: one describes the sky, while the other describes warmth. A clear day can still feel cold.

Why 춥다 becomes 추워요

A dictionary lists 춥다 and 덥다, but in this polite everyday conversation you will hear 추워요 and 더워요. The ㅂ does not remain in these two forms. Learn each pair together: 춥다 → 추워요; 덥다 → 더워요.

These are examples of the ㅂ irregular pattern. This does not mean every Korean word with a final ㅂ changes in the same way. At this stage, recognising the two complete forms is enough. You can investigate the wider pattern once these useful replies feel familiar.

Also avoid adding 이에요 or 예요 to a finished descriptive form. For the weather, say 추워요., not “추워요예요.” 추워요 already supplies the description and the polite ending. Korean descriptive words can serve as predicates; they do not need the same structure as the noun sentence “It is a book.”

For a hot cup of coffee, a natural warning is 커피가 뜨거워요. — “The coffee is hot.” Do not automatically use 더워요 for every English occurrence of “hot.” This is a practical contrast between feeling hot in the surrounding air and something being hot to touch or drink, not a claim that the dictionary word 덥다 has only one possible use.

Ask a broad question or check one detail

밖에 means “outside” in these questions. 조금 means “a little,” and 많이 means “a lot.” Notice the difference between asking how the weather is and asking whether it is raining. 어때요 invites a description; 비가 와요? checks a particular condition.

With these polite forms, a question can have the same words as a statement. The question mark shows the difference in writing; in conversation, intonation and context help the listener recognise the question. Listen to the recorded question as a whole. Do not add an English-style question word simply because the spelling otherwise resembles a statement.

A short 네 or 아니요 may answer the question, but repeating the key information makes your meaning easier to follow. If someone asks whether it is cold and you answer 아니요, 따뜻해요, the second part confirms what you mean. This is especially useful when you are both speaking slowly or there is background noise.

Turn the answer into a simple plan

This is an original practice dialogue between two people making a plan. 도 in 바람도 adds “also”: wind is an additional observation. 그럼 connects the next idea to what you just heard, roughly “then” or “in that case.”

만나요 can describe meeting, or work as “let’s meet” in an appropriate conversation. Here it is a suggestion because the speakers are deciding where to meet. You do not need to treat every sentence ending in -아요 or -어요 as an invitation.

Try a second round. Change the weather reply to 비가 와요., then ask 우산 있어요? before choosing where to meet. You have now used the vocabulary for a purpose, rather than reciting a list of conditions. Keep the place and plan simple enough that you can respond without reading the whole table.

Add a preference when the conversation continues

저는 가을을 좋아해요. means “I like autumn.” This is a personal preference, not a statement that one season is best for everyone. You can replace 가을 with another season without changing 좋아해요.

Weather vocabulary and season vocabulary answer different questions. If someone asks whether it is raining outside, “winter” does not answer them. First respond to the condition they asked about; add your preference only when the conversation moves there. For actual trip planning, check a current forecast for the relevant place and date rather than treating a practice sentence as a forecast.

Try eight small weather tasks

A small listening check

Reference and next practice

• National Institute of Korean Language: 춥다 — Meanings and conjugated forms, including 추워.
• National Institute of Korean Language: 덥다 — Meanings and forms, including 더워; useful when distinguishing uses of English “hot.”

Reviewed September 3, 2026. Found a mistake? Send a correction.

For your next practice, say one sentence about the weather you can observe, then ask someone one related question. Keep the observation and question separate at first. When that feels easy, revisit the dialogue and add a meeting place.