Korean Weather Expressions: Talk About the Weather Like a Native
Korean Weather Expressions
Weather is one of the most common conversation starters in Korean, just like in English. Unit 8 of the beginner curriculum covers weather vocabulary, adjective conjugation, and the cause-and-effect grammar pattern that makes weather talk natural.
Basic Weather Vocabulary
| Korean | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 날씨 | nalssi | Weather |
| 더워요 | deowoyo | It's hot |
| 추워요 | chuwoyo | It's cold |
| 따뜻해요 | ttatteuthaeyo | It's warm |
| 시원해요 | siwonhaeyo | It's cool/refreshing |
| 비가 와요 | biga wayo | It's raining |
| 눈이 와요 | nuni wayo | It's snowing |
| 바람이 불어요 | barami bureoyo | It's windy |
| 맑아요 | malgayo | It's clear |
| 흐려요 | heuryeoyo | It's cloudy |
Adjective Conjugation: ㅂ-Irregular
Many weather adjectives follow the ㅂ-irregular pattern, where ㅂ changes to 우 before a vowel ending:
- 덥다 (hot) → 더워요 (it's hot)
- 춥다 (cold) → 추워요 (it's cold)
- 가볍다 (light) → 가벼워요 (it's light)
- 무겁다 (heavy) → 무거워요 (it's heavy)
This is one of the trickiest irregular patterns for beginners. The key: when you see ㅂ at the end of an adjective stem, it usually becomes 워요 in the polite present form.
Cause and Effect: -아서/어서
Weather is the perfect context to learn the -아서/어서 grammar pattern, which connects a cause to its result:
Pattern: Cause + 아서/어서 + Result
- 비가 와서 우산을 가져왔어요 (It's raining, so I brought an umbrella)
- 날씨가 추워서 따뜻한 옷을 입었어요 (The weather is cold, so I wore warm clothes)
- 날씨가 좋아서 산책했어요 (The weather is nice, so I took a walk)
The same vowel rules apply: ㅏ/ㅗ → 아서, everything else → 어서.
못 vs 안: Two Types of Negation
Weather situations naturally demonstrate the difference between 못 (can't) and 안 (don't/won't):
- 비가 와서 못 나갔어요 (It rained so I couldn't go out) — inability
- 비가 오지만 안 나갔어요 (It rained but I didn't go out) — choice
Use 못 when something prevents you. Use 안 when you simply chose not to.
Seasonal Expressions
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 봄이에요 | It's spring |
| 여름이에요 | It's summer |
| 가을이에요 | It's autumn |
| 겨울이에요 | It's winter |
| 장마철이에요 | It's monsoon season |
| 꽃이 피었어요 | The flowers are blooming |
| 단풍이 예뻐요 | The autumn leaves are pretty |
Conversation Practice
Here's a typical weather conversation:
A: 오늘 날씨가 어때요? (How's the weather today?) B: 오늘 날씨가 좋아요. 따뜻해요. (The weather is nice today. It's warm.) A: 내일은요? (What about tomorrow?) B: 내일은 비가 올 거예요. (Tomorrow it will rain.) A: 그러면 우산을 가져가야 해요. (Then I need to bring an umbrella.)
Practice on Chamelingo
Unit 8 covers weather expressions alongside adjective conjugation and the cause-effect grammar pattern. You'll practice through fill-in-the-blank exercises with weather scenarios, dialogue completion for weather conversations, and listening exercises where you hear weather forecasts and answer comprehension questions. The ㅂ-irregular conjugation drill is especially helpful — it uses animated morphing to show you exactly how 덥다 transforms into 더워요.
Study the ㅂ-irregular adjectives and descriptive patterns in our weather adjectives grammar lesson, and browse all weather vocabulary to build a complete set of seasonal expressions.