How to Give an Opinion About the Weather

Learn how to give an opinion about the weather

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Japanese by JapanesePod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about the weather in Japanese.

For example, "It's hot today, isn't it?" is

きょうはあついですね。(Kyō wa atsui desu ne.)

Megumi Sasaki sees her neighbor, Ichika Ishikawa, and starts a conversation about the weather.

Before you hear their conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

きょう (kyō)

"today"

きょう (enunciated)

きょう

あつい (atsui)

"hot"

あつい (enunciated)

あつい

Listen to the conversation, and focus on Megumi's comment.

Ready?

きょうはあついですね。(Kyō wa atsui desu ne.)

そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)

Once more with the English translation.

きょうはあついですね。(Kyō wa atsui desu ne.)

"It’s hot today, isn’t it?"

そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)

"It is, isn’t it?"

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Megumi says,

"It’s hot today, isn’t it?"

きょうはあついですね。(Kyō wa atsui desu ne.)

First is きょう, "today." きょう.

After this is は, the topic-marking particle. は.

It marks きょう, "today," as the topic of the sentence. Think of it like "as for" in the expression "as for today…"

Together, it’s きょうは. "As for today…" きょうは.

Next is あつい. "Hot." あつい.

After this is です. In this case, it’s like the "is" in "It is hot." です.

And last is ね, a sentence-ending particle that’s used to build consensus. It translates as "isn’t it" here. ね.

Another common translation for ね is "right?" as in "It’s hot, right?"

All together, it’s きょうはあついですね。Literally, "As for today, hot [it] is, isn’t it?" but translates as, "It’s hot today, isn’t it?"

きょうはあついですね。(Kyō wa atsui desu ne.)

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Ichika Ishikawa says,

"It is, isn’t it?"

そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)

そうですね is a set phrase used to show agreement with the speaker. The English translation can vary depending on the context. Here it translates as “It is, isn’t is,” but a common translation is "That’s right." そうですね

First is そう, translating as "true" or "correct," in this context. そう.

After this is です. In this case, it’s like the "is" in "It is." です.

And last is ね, the sentence-ending particle that’s used to build consensus. It translates as "isn’t it" here. ね.

Together, そうですね, literally means "True [that] is, isn’t it," but it translates here as "It is, isn’t it?"

そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)

The pattern is　

きょうは (Kyō wa) WORD OR PHRASE DESCRIBING THE WEATHER ですね。(desu ne.)

"It’s WORD OR PHRASE DESCRIBING THE WEATHER today, isn’t it?"

きょうは WORD OR PHRASE DESCRIBING THE WEATHER ですね。

Imagine it’s cold. さむい (samui). さむい.

Say,

"It’s cold today, isn’t it?"

Ready?

きょうはさむいですね。(Kyō wa samui desu ne.)

"It’s cold today, isn’t it?"

きょうはさむいですね。(Kyō wa samui desu ne.)

Notice that both Megumi and her neighbor end the sentence with ね, "isn’t it?/right?" Here, the purpose of the particle, ね, is to build consensus between the speakers, and it’s often used in Japanese.

Making this kind of small talk about the weather is more common in Japan than asking about one’s well-being. Instead of asking "How are you?" people are more likely to make a simple observation about the weather or temperature.

It’s expected that the other person will express agreement. It’s an exercise in consensus building that will begin many of your daily encounters in Japan.

Again, the key pattern is

きょうは (Kyō wa) WORD OR PHRASE DESCRIBING THE WEATHER ですね。(desu ne.)

"It’s WORD OR PHRASE DESCRIBING THE WEATHER today, isn’t it?"

きょうは WORD OR PHRASE DESCRIBING THE WEATHER ですね。

Let’s look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

きょうはあついですね。(Kyō wa atsui desu ne.)

"It's hot today, isn't it?"

きょうはあついですね。(Kyō wa atsui desu ne.)

きょうはさむいですね。(Kyō wa samui desu ne.)

"It's cold today, isn't it?"

きょうはさむいですね。(Kyō wa samui desu ne.)

きょうはあたたかいですね。(Kyō wa atatakai desu ne.)

"It's warm today, isn't it?"

きょうはあたたかいですね。(Kyō wa atatakai desu ne.)

きょうはいいてんきですね。(Kyō wa ii tenki desu ne.)

"It's nice weather today, isn't it?"

きょうはいいてんきですね。(Kyō wa ii tenki desu ne.)

あついですね。(Atsui desu ne.)

"It's hot, isn't it?"

あついですね。(Atsui desu ne.)

Did you notice how the last speaker omitted きょうは (kyō wa)?

あついですね。(Atsui desu ne.)

"It’s hot, isn’t it?"

あついですね。

You can omit きょうは (kyō wa) and simply say, あつい, "hot," followed by ですね。

In Japanese, when the context is clear, the speaker often omits the topic. In this case, it’s clear I was talking about today’s weather, so きょうは is omitted.

You should be aware of this shortcut, but for this lesson, we’ll use the pattern,

きょうは (Kyō wa) WORD OR PHRASE DESCRIBING THE WEATHER ですね。(desu ne.)

"It’s WORD OR PHRASE DESCRIBING THE WEATHER today, isn’t it?2

Let's review the key vocabulary.

あたたかい. "Warm." あたたかい.

いいてんき. Nice weather. いいてんき.

This phrase is made up of two words:

いい, meaning "good." いい.

てんき, "weather." てんき.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "hot?"

あつい.

And the sentence-ending particle that’s used to build consensus?

ね

Do you remember how to say "today?"

きょう

And the topic-marking particle?

は.

Do you remember how Megumi says,

"It’s hot today, isn’t it?"

きょうはあついですね。(Kyō wa atsui desu ne.)

Do you remember how Ichika Ishikawa agrees by saying,

"It is, isn’t it?"

そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)

Do you remember how to say "good weather?"

いいてんき

And how to say "cold?"

さむい

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Ichika, Megumi’s neighbor. Comment on the cold weather today. "Cold" in Japanese is さむい.

Ready?

きょうはさむいですね。(Kyō wa samui desu ne.)

そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)

Listen again and repeat.

きょうはさむいですね。(Kyō wa samui desu ne.)

Let’s try another.

Imagine you're Haruto Sasaki. Comment to your teacher on the hot weather today. "Hot" in Japanese is あつい.

Ready?

きょうはあついですね。(Kyō wa atsui desu ne.)

そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)

Listen again and repeat.

きょうはあついですね。(Kyō wa atsui desu ne.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Jun Sasaki. Comment to your neighbor on the nice weather today. "Nice weather" in Japanese is いいてんき.

Ready?

きょうはいいてんきですね。(Kyō wa ii tenki desu ne.)

そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)

Listen again and repeat.

きょうはいいてんきですね。(Kyō wa ii tenki desu ne.)

Well done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to give an opinion about the weather, an essential skill for talking about the weather.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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