When traveling in Italy, like it or not, weather conditions can be a concern. We like to imagine Italy being sunny and beautiful all the time, but purtroppo (unfortunately), especially these days, the weather can be capriccioso (mischievous) and imprevidibile (unpredictable). As a result, knowing how to talk about the weather like an Italian can be not only useful for obtaining information, but provides a great topic for small talk.
In Italian, the verb of choice when talking about the weather is fare (to make). Che tempo fa? What’s the weather doing? What’s the weather like? Keep in mind that tempo means both “time” and “weather” so be prepared to get confused sometimes. If you want to talk about today’s weather, then just add oggi (today):
Che tempo fa oggi? (What’s the weather like today?)
An answer might be:
Oggi c'è un bel tempo, un bel sole.
Today there's nice weather, nice sun.
Caption 3, Corso di italiano con Daniela Chiedere informazioni - Part 1
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And when talking about tomorrow, we use the future tense of the verb fare:
Che tempo farà domani? (What’s the weather forecast for tomorrow?)
So our basic question is Che tempo fa? What’s the weather doing? What’s the weather like? That's good to know, and an important question to be able to ask, but when we're making conversation, we might start with a statement, to share the joy, or to commiserate.
We can start out generally, talking about the quality of the day itself.
Che bella giornata (what a beautiful day).
Che brutta giornata (what a horrible day).
After that, we can get into specifics.
Tip: In English, we use adjectives such as: sunny, rainy, muggy, and foggy, but in Italian, in many cases, it’s common to use noun forms, rather than adjectives, as you will see.
Fa freddo (it’s cold)! Note that we (mostly) use the verb fare (to make) here, not essere (to be)
Fa caldo (it’s hot)!
Piove (it’s raining). Italians also use the present progressive tense as we do in English, (sta piovendo) but not necessarily!
Nevica (it’s snowing).
C’è il sole (it’s sunny).
È coperto (it’s cloudy, the skies are grey).
È nuvoloso (it’s cloudy).
C’è la nebbia (it’s foggy).
C’è l’afa (it’s muggy).
Piove. T'accompagno a casa?
It's raining. Shall I take you home?
Caption 3, Sei mai stata sulla luna? film - Part 14
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Il clima, eh... essendo la Lombardia quasi tutta pianura, abbiamo estati molto afose e inverni molto rigidi. Ma la caratteristica principale è la presenza costante della nebbia.
The climate, uh... as Lombardy is almost all flatlands, we have very muggy summers and very severe winters. But the main characteristic is the constant presence of fog.
Captions 70-73, L'Italia a tavola Interrogazione sulla Lombardia
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We have the adjective chiaro that means "clear" and so when we want to clear something up we can use the verb chiarire (to clear up). We are speaking figuratively in this case.
Incominciamo col chiarire una cosa: è per te, o è per tua madre?
Let's start by clearing up one thing. Is it for you, or is it for your mother?
Caption 8, La Ladra EP. 6 - Nero di rabbia - Part 5
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But chiaro also means "light in color."
Ci sono di tutti i tipi: maschi, femmine, occhi chiari, occhi scuri.
There are all kinds: males, females, blue [pale] eyed, dark eyed.
Caption 63, Un Figlio a tutti i costi film - Part 17
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When the sky is clearing up, we don't use the verb chiarire. We use the prefix s and chiarire becomes schiarire (to make lighter or brighter [with more light] in color). It can refer not only to color but also sound. It's often expressed in its reflexive form.
Il cielo si sta schiarendo (the sky is clearing up).
Al centro invece, abbiamo nebbia anche qui dappertutto, con qualche schiarita, ma nebbia a tutte le ore.
Towards the center on the other hand, we have fog all over, here as well, with some clearing, but fog at all hours.
Captions 58-59, Anna e Marika in TG Yabla Italia e Meteo - Part 10
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There's more to say about the weather and how to talk about it in Italian, but that will be for another lesson.
The Krikka Reggae, a cosìddetto (so-called) Italian reggae group, sing about their home region, way down in the heel of the boot of Italy, called Basilicata, also known as Lucania. They sing about their paese (country) and their terra (land), and even about the terra madre (native land). Let's have a look at some of the different connotations of these nouns.
Paese can be specific, meaning nation or country:
È Ravenna la città in cui si vive meglio in Italia.
Ravenna is the city in which one lives best in Italy.
... A dirlo è l'edizione 2014
... Saying this is the two thousand fourteen issue
della classifica delle città più vivibili del paese.
of the classification of the most liveable cities in the country.
Captions 20-22, Anna e Marika - in TG Yabla Italia e Meteo
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Paese can be specifically a town:
Eh, adesso ci troviamo ad Avella, un paese in provincia di Avellino.
Uh, right now we're in Avella, a town in the province of Avellino.
Caption 3, Escursioni Campane - Castello Normanno
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Paese can be more general, as in country, region, or area:
Poi scopriamo che la Liguria è il paese del basilico, è anche speciale.
Then we discover that Liguria is the country of basil, it's special, too.
Caption 43, L'arte della cucina - Terre d'Acqua
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Terra is often more general than paese, and gives the idea of homeland or home country, rather than hometown:
Per la tua terra lotti, per la terra combatti
For your homeland, you fight, for the homeland you struggle
Caption 31, Krikka Reggae - Lukania (Lucania)
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Terra can give you a more visual image of a place than paese:
Io vengo da una terra dove l'acqua è un bene prezioso.
I come from a land where water is a precious resource.
Caption 44, Gianni si racconta - Chi sono
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Terra can indicate the planet Earth.
Pare che l'unico poliziotto sulla faccia della terra
It seems that the only policeman on the face of the earth
che lo può risolvere sono io!
who can resolve it is me!
Caption 13, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena Part - 2
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Terra can indicate ground or soil:
Forse è la terra.
Maybe it's the soil.
Questa specie di rose ha bisogno di molto nutrimento!
This kind of rose needs lots of nourishment.
Captions 7-8, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena - Part 4
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The lack of clear cut definitions of terra and paese may make more sense if we remember that Italy became one nation, divided into regions, as late as the second half of the 19th century.
Keep on the lookout for paese and terra, and remember that they have slightly different meanings depending on the context. A Yabla search of a word is always a great way to get a quick overview of how it's used.
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