Talking About the Weather in Portuguese

It’s time to talk about the weather in European Portuguese! This is everyone’s favourite topic of conversation, right? Well, maybe not. But hey, it’s a good starting point, especially if you don’t know someone well, or you don’t have much else in common.

Portuguese Weather Vocabulary

The word for weather is the same as the word for time: o tempoweather Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine Let’s take a look at more examples of basic Portuguese weather vocabulary:

• ☀️ o solsun Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine | solarengosunny Slow audio Play audio Adjective, Singular, Masculine | soalheirosunny Slow audio Play audio
• ☔️ a chuvarain Slow audio Play audio | chuvosorainy Slow audio Play audio Adjective, Singular, Masculine | choverto rain Slow audio Play audio Verb
• ☁️ a nuvemcloud | nubladocloudy Slow audio Play audio Adjective / Past Participle, Masculine
• 🍃 o ventowind Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine | ventosowindy Slow audio Play audio
• 🥵 o calorheat, warmth | quentehot Slow audio Play audio Adjective
• 🥶 friocold Slow audio Play audio Adjective, Singular, Masculine
• 🙂 amenomild, pleasant, temperate | agradávelpleasant
• ❄️ a nevesnow | nevarto snow Slow audio Play audio Verb

Important Tips About Nouns vs. Adjectives

With some weather words, it’s very common in Portuguese to construct the sentence to use the noun instead of the adjective, i.e., saying there is sun, rather than saying it’s sunny. For example:

• Está solIt's sunny Slow audio Play audio – “There’s sun”, as opposed to Está um dia solarengo (It’s a sunny day)
• Está muito ventoIt's very windy Slow audio Play audio – “There’s a lot of wind”, as opposed to Está muito ventoso (It’s very windy)
• Estou com calorI'm hot Slow audio Play audio   – “I’m with heat”
• É um dia de neveIt's a snowy day Slow audio Play audio – “It’s a day of snow”

When you do use adjectives, as always, it has to match the noun it describes in gender and number. For example:

• O inverno é frioThe winter is cold Slow audio Play audio
• A nossa casa é fria no inverno.Our house is cold in the winter Slow audio Play audio

Seasons in Portugal

Here’s a quick breakdown of weather in Portugal during each a estaçãoseason Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine :

• a primaveraspring Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine — generally mild weather
• o verãosummer Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine — warm/hot, especially in the south
• o outonoautumn Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine — cooler and rainier
• o invernowinter Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine — cold, sometimes snowy in the north

We cover days, months, and seasons in these other Units: What Day Is It? | Periods of Time

Using Different Verbs to Talk About the Weather

As you’re talking about seasons and weather in Portuguese, you may be wondering which verb to use in different contexts. It’s that ongoing battle of ser vs. estar! Just as we’ve learned in the past, ser tends to be used for more permanent characteristics, like what the weather is generally like. Estar, on the other hand, works better for current / temporary weather conditions. But, as always, there is a bit of overlap in how these verbs are used.
O clima é perfeito aquiThe weather (climate) is perfect here Slow audio Play audio
O tempo está perfeito hojeThe weather is perfect today Slow audio Play audio
No inverno, as noites são friasIn the winter, the nights are cold Slow audio Play audio
Está frio esta noiteIt is cold tonight Slow audio Play audio
You will also hear the verb fazerto do, to make Slow audio Play audio Verb quite often when discussing the temperature or certain weather conditions:
Em Lisboa faz muito ventoIt’s very windy in Lisbon Slow audio Play audio
Aqui faz calorIt's hot here, It gets hot here Slow audio Play audio
No inverno, faz muito frio no norteIn the winter, it's very cold in the north Slow audio Play audio

More Portuguese Weather Lingo

Tuning into a Portuguese weather forecast, or just chatting with neighbours about the weather? Here are more Portuguese weather terms and phrases to help you out:
a previsãoforecast Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine
previstoexpected, predicted
as máximasthe highs (temperature) Slow audio Play audio
os mínimosthe lows (temperature) Slow audio Play audio
aviso meterológicoweather warning Slow audio Play audio
céu limpoclear sky Slow audio Play audio
céu nubladoovercast sky Slow audio Play audio
os aguaceirosrain showers Slow audio Play audio
precipitaçãoprecipitation Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine
a brisabreeze Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine
o nevoeirofog Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine
húmidohumid
a tempestadestorm Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine
a trovoadathunderstorm Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine
o relâmpagolightning Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine
o granizohail Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine
o furacãohurricane Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine
o ciclonecyclone, hurricane Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine
inundadaflooded (sing.,fem.)
os incêndios florestaisforest fires, wildfires Slow audio Play audio
o arco-írisrainbow

Some Extra Work for Americans 🇺🇸

If you’re from the U.S. (or anywhere that uses Fahrenheit), you should get used to using Celsius to talk about 🌡️ a temperaturathe temperature .
A temperatura caiu abaixo dos zero graus CelsiusThe temperature dropped below 0ºC Slow audio Play audio
There are plenty of apps and websites that will convert the temperature for you, but it may help to start “thinking in Celsius” by switching your weather apps/displays. Here’s a very rough guide to get you started (these are just approximations):

Celsius	Fahrenheit
-10 – -5	in the 10s and 20s
0	freezing
1 – 10	in the 30s and 40s
11 – 20	in the 50s and 60s
21 – 30	in the 70s and 80s
31+	in the 90s and 100s

Most people consider somewhere around 20-25ºC to be a pleasant temperature: not too cold and not too hot.