Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| temps | /tɑ̃/ (France) /tã/ (Quebec) |
masculine |
| météo | /me.te.o/ | feminine |
temps refers to the state of the atmosphere. It is used in common expressions such as Quel temps fait-il? to ask about the weather. To describe weather conditions, French speakers use the impersonal construction "Il fait" followed by an adjective, such as Il fait beau (It's nice weather), Il fait mauvais (It's bad weather), Il fait froid (It's cold) or Il fait chaud (It's hot). You can also use the idiom Il pleut des cordes to say it is raining cats and dogs.
Which one should you use?
While temps refers to the general concept of weather, it also means "time". In a colloquial context, météo is used to refer specifically to a weather forecast or a weather report rather than the atmosphere itself.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the southern regions, the word mistral is used to refer to a specific type of strong, cold wind, as in the phrase Il y a du mistral.
How do you pronounce it?
/tɑ̃/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use le temps with the verb "être" (for example, saying Le temps est bon). Instead, use the impersonal construction Il fait (for example, Il fait bon).
Did you know?
- Because temps means both 'time' and 'weather', the phrase le temps change can be a pun meaning both 'the weather is changing' and 'the era is changing'.
- French speakers use the word temps to describe both the 'weather' and the 'grammatical tense' of a verb.
- The expression il pleut des cordes literally translates to 'it is raining ropes' rather than 'cats and dogs'.
Examples in context
- Quel beau temps !What divine weather!This is useful for exclaiming about beautiful weather using temps.Tatoeba #1080524 by sacredceltic, translation #36128 by AlanF_US
- Quel sale temps !What bad weather!This is useful for exclaiming about bad weather using temps.Tatoeba #6019116 by christian63, translation #6736459 by Eccles17
- Le temps se calme.The weather is dying down.This is useful for describing the weather calming down using temps.Tatoeba #6848528 by felix63, translation #6861568 by kaiperkins271
- Quel temps fait-il aujourd'hui?What's the weather like today?
- Il fait beau aujourd'hui.It's nice weather today.
- Il fait un soleil radieux.It's sunny.
- Il fait mauvais aujourd'hui.It's bad weather today.
- Il pleut des cordes.It's raining heavily.
- Il fait froid en hiver.It's cold in winter.
- Il fait très chaud en été.It's very hot in summer.
- Il fait super beau aujourd'hui!It's super nice weather today!
- Quel temps génial pour une randonnée!What great weather for a hike!
- Il fait moche aujourd'hui.It's ugly weather today.
- Quel temps pourri pour un pique-nique!What rotten weather for a picnic!
- Il fait un froid de canard dehors!It's freezing cold outside!
- Je vais mettre une veste, il fait trop froid.I'm going to put on a jacket, it's too cold.
- Il fait frais ce matin, mais le soleil brille.It's cool this morning, but the sun is shining.
- Le temps est frais ici en Bretagne.The weather is cool here in Brittany.
- Attention, il y a du mistral aujourd'hui!Be careful, there's a strong wind (mistral) today.
- Le mistral rend le temps plus froid dans le sud.The mistral makes the weather colder in the south.
- 561 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Léa are planning a walk in the park.
- GabrielQuel temps fait-il, Léa ?How is the weather, Léa?
- LéaLe temps est assez agréable.The weather is quite pleasant.
- GabrielOn peut aller marcher alors.We can go for a walk then.
- LéaOui, c'est une bonne idée.Yes, it is a good idea.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “weather” translations and entries temps, météo, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
