italiano · A1 · vocabulary · 4 minutes
Weather
Use fa, c’è, and impersonal verbs for different conditions.
Understand the choice
Italian weather does not fit one universal frame. Temperature uses fare, precipitation an impersonal verb, and visible conditions often c’è or essere + adjective.
Core rule: Use fa caldo/freddo, piove/nevica, c’è il sole/vento, and è nuvoloso.
Notice it in context
Oggi fa freddo, ma domani ci sarà il sole.
Today it is cold, but tomorrow it will be sunny.
Fa freddo is the temperature frame; ci sarà il sole predicts a visible condition.
In montagna nevica e c’è molto vento.
In the mountains it is snowing and very windy.
Nevica and c’è vento use two weather patterns.
Le nuvole sono scure e presto arriva la pioggia.
The clouds are dark and rain will arrive soon.
Nuvole and pioggia are ordinary weather nouns.
What to remember
- Tempo means both weather and time; clima is long-term climate.
- Fa fresco means pleasantly/coolly cool rather than cold.
Common trap: Do not say è freddo for the general weather. Use fa freddo.