How to Talk About Basic Weather Conditions

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can Do Korean by KoreanClass101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about weather conditions in Korean.

For example, "It's rainy." is

비가 와요. (Bi-ga wa-yo.)

Yeon-a Yu is in rainy Seoul.

She’s on a long-distance call with Yun-suk In, her former colleague, she asks about the current weather.

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

날씨 (nal-ssi)

"weather"

날씨 (enunciated)

날씨

비 (bi)

"rain"

비 (enunciated)

비

Listen to the conversation, and focus on the response.

Note: the speakers are using informal-polite Korean indicating a close relationship.

Ready?

날씨 어때요? (Nal-ssi eo-ttae-yo?)

비가 와요. (Bi-ga wa-yo.)

Once more with the English translation.

날씨 어때요? (Nal-ssi eo-ttae-yo?)

"How’s the weather?"

비가 와요. (Bi-ga wa-yo.)

"It's raining."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Yun-suk asks,

"How’s the weather?"

날씨 어때요? (Nal-ssi eo-ttae-yo?)

First is 날씨(nal-ssi), "weather." 날씨 (enunciated). 날씨.

Next is 어때요 (eo-ttae-yo), "how is" as in "how is the weather." 어때요 (enunciated). 어때요.

This starts with 어때 (eo-ttae), "how is." 어때 (eo-ttae).

어때 (eo-ttae) is from the verb 어떻다 (eo-tteo-ta), meaning "be how" or "be like what." 어떻다 (eo-tteo-ta)

Note: 어떻다 is a shortened form of 어떠하다 (eo-tteo-ha-da). Both mean "be how" or "be like what."

Next is 요(yo), the polite sentence ending. 요.

Together, 어때요(eo-ttae-yo), "how is" 어때요 (enunciated). 어때요.

All together, 날씨 어때요? (Nal-ssi eo-ttae-yo?) Literally "weather how is?" but it translates as "How’s the weather?"

날씨 어때요? (Nal-ssi eo-ttae-yo?)

Note: this is the shortened version of 날씨가 어때요? (Nal-ssi-ga eo-ttae-yo?)

Yun-suk In omits the subject-marking particle 가(ga).

날씨 어때요? (Nal-ssi eo-ttae-yo?)

In spoken Korean, speakers tend to omit particles when it’s clear which particle would be used.

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Yeon-a says,

"It’s raining."

비가 와요. (Bi-ga wa-yo.)

First is 비 (bi), "rain." 비 (enunciated).비.

Next is 가 (ga), the subject-marking particle. 가 (enunciated). 가.

It marks "rain" as the subject of the sentence.

Note, 가 (ga) follows words that end with a vowel, such as 비(bi).

Next is 와요 (wa-yo), "is coming," as in the rain is coming down. 와요 (enunciated). 와요.

와 (wa) is from the verb 오다 (o-da), meaning "to come." 오다(o-da).

After this is 요 (yo) the polite sentence ending. 요 (enunciated). 요.

Together, 와요 (wa-yo) translates as "is coming," as in the rain is coming down. 와요.

All together, it’s 비가 와요. (Bi-ga wa-yo.) This literally means "rain is coming," but it translates as "It’s raining."

비가 와요. (Bi-ga wa-yo.)

The pattern is

{noun} {subject-marking particle } 와요. ({noun} {subject-marking particle } wa-yo.)

{noun} {subject-marking particle } is coming (down).

To use this pattern, simply replace the {noun} placeholder with a suitable weather noun, one that falls from the sky, such as rain. Then mark the subject with the corresponding subject-marking particle.

가 (ga) follows words that end in a vowel, such as 비 (bi).

이 (i) follows words that end in a vowel, such as 눈 (nun), "snow."

In this lesson, you'll learn adjectives related to the weather that you can use with this pattern.

Imagine it's snowing. 눈 (nun), "snow." 눈 (enunciated). 눈.

Remember, when the subject ends in a consonant, use the subject-marking particle 이(i).

Say

"It's snowing."

Ready?

눈이 와요. (Nun-i wa-yo.)

"It's snowing."

눈이 와요. (Nun-i wa-yo.)

Not all weather conditions can be described with this pattern, so you'll need other patterns, such as:

{corresponding stem of adjective or verb describing the weather} a polite sentence ending.

For example,

맑아요. (Mal-ga-yo.) It’s sunny. 맑아요.

맑아요 is from the adjective 맑다 (mak-tta), meaning "to be clear." 맑다 (mak-tta).

Conjugation note for the informal-polite form: the final vowel in the stem determines the conjugation pattern.

if the final vowel of an adjective or verb stem is ㅗ (o) or ㅏ(a), then 아 (a) follows the stem, as in 맑아요.

Note: 하다 (ha-da), "to do," one of the most common verbs in Korean, is the exception to this rule. It has the final vowel ㅏ(a), but it conjugates as 해요(hae-yo).

If the final vowel in a stem is anything else, then 어 (eo) follows the stem.

For example, 먹다 (meok-da) meaning "to eat." 먹다 (meok-da)

The final vowel in the stem isn’t ㅏ(a) or ㅗ (o), so 어 (eo) follows the stem 먹 (meok), as in 먹어요 (meog-eo-yo). "I eat."

Note: if the stem ends in a vowel, such as in the following case, a contraction will occur. For example,

흐려요 (heu-ryeo-yo), "It’s cloudy." 흐려요.

흐려요. is from the adjective 흐리다 (heu-ri-da), meaning "To be cloudy." 흐리다.

The final vowel in the stem, 흐리 (heu-ri), is not ㅏ(a) or ㅗ(o), so 어(eo) follows the stem: 흐리+어+요.

Now, as the stem, 흐리, ends in a vowel, 리 contracts with 어 to form 려 (ryeo).

So, 흐리+어+요 becomes 흐려요, "It’s cloudy." 흐려요.

In Korean, there are many of these contractions.

Again, the pattern is

{noun} + {subject-marking particle } 와요. ({noun} {subject-marking particle } wa-yo.)

{noun} + {subject-marking particle } is coming (down).

Let’s look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

비가 와요. (Bi-ga wa-yo.)

"It's raining."

비가 와요. (Bi-ga wa-yo.)

눈이 와요. (Nun-i wa-yo.)

"It's snowing."

눈이 와요. (Nun-i wa-yo.)

맑아요. (Mal-ga-yo.)

"It's sunny."

맑아요. (Mal-ga-yo.)

흐려요. (Heu-ryeo-yo.)

"It's cloudy."

흐려요. (Heu-ryeo-yo.)

서울에 비가 와요. (Seo-ur-e bi-ga wa-yo.)

"It's raining in Seoul."

서울에 비가 와요. (Seo-ur-e bi-ga wa-yo.)

Did you notice how the last speaker added 서울에 (Seo-ur-e)?

서울에 비가 와요. (Seo-ur-e bi-ga wa-yo.)

"It's raining in Seoul."

The phrase 서울에 (Seo-ur-e) sets Seoul as a place for talking about the weather.

When it's not yet clear which area you are talking about, you can add the following information:

{location}에(e) + one of the patterns introduced before.

Let's review the key vocabulary.

눈 (nun).

"Snow."

눈 (enunciated). 눈.

맑다(mak-tta),

"To be clear."

맑다 (enunciated). 맑다.

맑아요. (Mal-ga-yo.).

"It’s sunny."

맑아요. (Mal-ga-yo.)

흐리다(heu-ri-da).

"To be cloudy."

흐리다 (enunciated). 흐리다.

흐려요. (Heu-ryeo-yo.)

"It’s cloudy."

흐려요 (enunciated). 흐려요.

Let's review.

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

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "rain?"

비. (bi.)

And the subject-marking particle that follows words ending in vowels?

가. (ga)

Do you remember how Yeon-a Yu says,

"It’s raining."

비가 와요. (Bi-ga wa-yo.)

Do you remember how to say "weather?"

날씨 (nal-ssi)

Do you remember how Yun-suk In asks,

"How is the weather?"

날씨 어때요? (Nal-ssi eo-ttae-yo?)

Do you remember the word meaning "to be clear?"

맑다. (mak-tta.)

And the informal-polite spoken way to say

"It’s clear."

맑아요. (Mal-ga-yo.)

Do you remember how to say "snow?"

눈. (nun.)

Let's practice.

Imagine you’re Yeon-a Yu, and it’s raining.

Respond to the question.

Ready?

날씨 어때요? (Nal-ssi eo-ttae-yo?)

비가 와요. (Bi-ga wa-yo.)

Listen again and repeat.

비가 와요. (Bi-ga wa-yo.)

Let’s try another.

Imagine you’re Yun-suk, and it’s sunny.

Ready?

날씨 어때요? (Nal-ssi eo-ttae-yo?)

맑아요. (Mal-ga-yo.)

Listen again and repeat.

맑아요. (Mal-ga-yo.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you’re Min-gyu Mun, and it’s snowing.

Ready?

날씨 어때요? (Nal-ssi eo-ttae-yo?)

눈이 와요. (Nun-i wa-yo.)

Listen again and repeat.

눈이 와요. (Nun-i wa-yo.)

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about weather in Korean. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of talking about the weather. Let’s review.

Do you remember how to say "today?"

오늘 (o-neul)

Do you remember how to say,

"It’s hot today, isn’t it?"

오늘 덥죠? (O-neul deop-jyo?)

Imagine you're Jack Jones, and it's cold outside.

Do you remember how to say "cold, right?" in Korean?

춥죠? (Chup-jyo?)

Now, tell your friend that it's cold.

오늘 춥죠? (O-neul chup-jyo?)

네, 그렇네요. (Ne, geu-reon-ne-yo.)

Listen again and repeat.

오늘 춥죠? (O-neul chup-jyo?)

On a different occasion you're traveling in Gangwon-do and talking with your friend on the phone. Your friend asks how the weather is, and it's snowy.

Do you remember how to say "snow" in Korean?

눈 (nun)

Respond to your friend and say it's snowing.

날씨 어때요? (Nal-ssi eo-ttae-yo?)

눈이 와요. (Nun-i wa-yo.)

Listen again and repeat.

눈이 와요. (Nun-i wa-yo.)

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Talk About the Weather unit of this course.

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

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