Imagine that you are going to Brazil. You are talking with a Brazilian friend and want to ask how the weather will be there when you travel. To do that, you need to learn weather vocabulary in Portuguese and check out my tips to avoid common mistakes.
In this Portuguese lesson you will learn relevant vocabulary and 16 common phrases to talk about the weather in Brazil.
Use the Verb Estar to Talk about The Weather in Portuguese
Below is a list of 16 common phrases to talk about the weather in Portuguese.
Notice that all of them use the verb Estar. Therefore these are sentences you use when you are talking about how the weather is at the moment.
- Como está o tempo? = How is the weather?
- O tempo está bom. = The weather is good.
- Está ensolarado. = It’s sunny.
- Está sol. = It’s sunny.
- Está fazendo sol. = It’s sunny.
- Está quente. = It’s hot.
- Está calor. = It’s hot.
- Está fazendo calor. = It’s hot.
- O tempo está ruim. = The weather is bad.
- Está nublado. = It’s overcast.
- O tempo está fechado. = It’s overcast.
- Está chovendo. = It’s raining.
- Está nevando. = It’s snowing.
- Está ventando. = It’s windy.
- Está frio. = It’s cold.
- Está fazendo frio. = It’s cold.
To make negative sentences: Just add Não in front of the phrase. For example:
- Não está frio. = It isn’t cold.
We don’t have “it” in Portuguese
All the sentences above that start with the verb Estar would start with “It” in English. Did you notice that?
Common verbs to talk about the weather in Brazil
1) To rain in Portuguese: chover
Phrase # 12 above is: Está chovendo. = It’s raining.
Another example:
- Espero que não chova no fim de semana. = I hope it does not rain on the weekend.
The verb is: chover
The noun is: a chuva
Notice how the verb is spelled with an “o” and the noun with a “u”.
You can sing along with Jorge Ben to keep this in mind. He has a song called Chove Chuva. Listen to the song and follow along with the lyrics here.
2) To snow in Portuguese: nevar
In Portuguese, to snow = nevar. It is a regular verb.
Phase # 13 above uses the verb nevar.
Another example:
- Nunca neva no nordeste do Brasil. = It never rains in the northeastern Brazil.
3) Ventar
I love this one. Phrase # 14 above is: Está ventando. = It’s windy. But we have the verb ventar. So literally what the sentence above says is “It’s winding”, just like we say raining or snowing.
Another example:
- Ontem ventou demais. = Yesterday was too windy.
Improve your weather vocabulary in Portuguese: Calor, Quente, Frio
The correct use of the words calor, quente, and frio with or without the preposition com is a source of great confusion among Portuguese speakers. I hope to clarify that for you here.
Let’s start by learning what the words mean:
- Calor = heat
- Quente = hot
- Frio = cold
Below are phrases that you should memorize. Be careful not to mix when to use and not to use the preposition com. It totally changes the meaning of the sentence.
With the preposition: Com calor, Com frio
Estou com calor. = I’m feeling hot.
Estou com frio. = I’m feeling cold.
Without the preposition
It completely changes what you are saying when you do not use the preposition com with the words quente and frio.
- Estou quente.
This does not mean that you are feeling hot because of the heat. It means that your skin is hot to the touch, such as when you have a fever. It’s analogous to saying:
- A comida está quente. = The food is hot.
- O café está quente. = The coffee is hot.
To talk about the weather, you can also say:
- Está quente. = It is hot.
- Está calor. = It is hot. Use this one to talk about the weather only. It cannot be used to talk about your food or coffee.
Similarly:
- Estou frio/a.
This does not mean that you are feeling cold. It means that you are cold in the sense that your skin will feel cold to someone else’s touch. It’s analogous to saying:
- A comida está fria. = The food is cold.
- O café está frio. = The coffee is cold.
To talk about the weather, you can also say:
- Está frio. = It is cold.
Avoid these common mistakes talking about the weather in Portuguese
The following phrases are always wrong:
- Estou calor. (wrong)
- Estou com quente. (wrong)
- Está com quente. (wrong)
I am sure these phrases will come handy when you are in Brazil making plans for the day and need to talk about the weather in Portuguese.
Why struggle with Portuguese? Practice with us to feel confident when using your weather vocabulary in Portuguese. Book a Trial Lesson with Street Smart Brazil to speak Portuguese with ease.
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