In European Portuguese you talk about the weather with está: está sol (it is sunny), está a chover (it is raining) and está frio (it is cold). The weather is the safest small talk in Portugal, a neutral opener after bom dia, and que calor means how hot it is.
The weather is the first real conversation most learners can hold in Portugal. It comes up every day, it needs no personal details, and the words are short. A few set phrases let you join in on a bus, in a queue or with a neighbour.
Most weather words are the same in Portugal and Brazil, so a list from either variety works for the vocabulary. The one difference that stands out is how Portugal says it is raining, which uses a verb form Brazilian Portuguese does not.
Key takeaways
- In European Portuguese the weather is usually described with está, as in está sol for it is sunny and está frio for it is cold.
- Portugal says está a chover for it is raining, while Brazilian Portuguese says está chovendo, using a different verb form.
- Weather is the standard small talk in Portugal, a safe, neutral opener once you have said bom dia or olá.
- The exclamations que calor and que frio, meaning how hot and how cold, are among the most common weather phrases in Portugal.
What are the main weather words?
These are the weather states you will hear and use most often. Each one is a short phrase built on está, the verb for a current state, so you can swap the last word to change the weather you are describing.
| English | European Portuguese |
|---|---|
| It is sunny | está sol |
| It is cloudy | está nublado |
| It is raining | está a chover |
| It is windy | está vento |
| It is cold | está frio |
| It is hot | está calor |
| It is snowing | está a nevar |
| It is foggy | está nevoeiro |
The nouns behind these phrases are worth knowing too. O sol is the sun, a chuva is the rain, o vento is the wind, a neve is the snow and o nevoeiro is fog. The weather itself is o tempo, which is also the word for time.
How do you describe the weather right now?
For a simple state, Portugal uses está plus a noun or adjective. Está sol is it is sunny, está vento is it is windy, and está bom tempo means the weather is nice. You will also hear faz, as in faz sol, which works the same way.
For weather that is happening as you speak, Portugal uses está a plus a verb. Está a chover is it is raining and está a nevar is it is snowing. This is the present continuous, and it is the single most useful weather pattern to get right.
What changes in European Portuguese?
Weather words are almost all shared with Brazil, so a vocabulary list from either variety will serve you. The difference that matters is the verb form Portugal uses for weather that is in progress right now.
Portugal builds the present continuous with estar a plus the infinitive, so it is raining is está a chover. Brazilian Portuguese uses estar plus the gerund instead, saying está chovendo. The weather is where a learner meets this split first, because rain and snow are described as they happen.
| Portugal | Brazil | English |
|---|---|---|
| está a chover | está chovendo | it is raining |
| está a nevar | está nevando | it is snowing |
| estava a chover | estava chovendo | it was raining |
The pattern holds for every verb and every tense, not just the weather. Learning it through está a chover gives you a form you will reuse all day. For the wider split, see how European Portuguese differs from Brazilian.
How do you talk about temperature?
For how hot or cold it is, Portugal uses está calor and está frio. Add muito for emphasis, as in está muito calor for it is very hot. For an exact figure, you say estão 20 graus, which means it is 20 degrees.
The most Portuguese way to react to the heat or cold is an exclamation. Que calor means how hot and que frio means how cold, and both are everyday phrases. Que calor hoje, for how hot it is today, is the kind of line you will hear in any queue in summer.
Why is weather the safest small talk in Portugal?
Small talk in Portugal usually opens with a greeting and then the weather. After bom dia or olá, a line like está bom tempo, não está, meaning nice weather, is it not, needs no reply more complicated than sim or pois.
The weather works as an opener because it asks for nothing personal and everyone shares it. It fills the gap at a bus stop, in a lift or at the checkout without the risk of a question you cannot yet answer. A good greeting and one weather line already make a short exchange.
If greetings are still new, European Portuguese greetings and when to use them covers bom dia, boa tarde and when to use tu. The weather is what you say straight after them.
How do you practise weather small talk out loud?
Reading está a chover off a page is easy. Saying it at the right moment, with the right verb form and without a pause, is what only speaking practice builds. The vocabulary here is small, so the real task is turning it into speech you can produce on the spot.
This is where Fluentus fits. Fluentus teaches the Portuguese spoken in Portugal only, and its AI tutor holds spoken conversations with you 24 hours a day in a real human voice. You can open with the weather, and the tutor replies and corrects both the word and the verb form you use.
Fluentus runs courses from A1 to B2 with smart flashcards built from your own conversations, on iOS and Android. If you are just starting, how to learn European Portuguese from scratch lays out a first path.
In one sentence: describe the weather with está, say está a chover rather than está chovendo, and use the weather as your safe small talk once you have said bom dia.
Frequently asked questions
How do you talk about the weather in Portugal Portuguese?
In Portugal Portuguese you usually start with está. Está sol means it is sunny, está a chover means it is raining, and está frio means it is cold. For temperature, people say estão 20 graus for it is 20 degrees, or simply que calor for how hot it is.
Is está a chover European Portuguese or Brazilian?
Está a chover is European Portuguese. Portugal builds the present continuous with estar a plus the infinitive, so it is raining becomes está a chover. Brazilian Portuguese uses estar plus the gerund instead, saying está chovendo. Both are correct Portuguese, but the form marks which variety you learned.
How do you say it is hot and it is cold?
To say it is hot, you say está calor, and for it is cold you say está frio. For strong feeling, Portugal uses que calor for how hot and que frio for how cold. You can add muito, as in está muito frio for it is very cold.
What is a good small-talk opener in the Portuguese spoken in Portugal?
In the Portuguese spoken in Portugal, the weather is the safest small talk. After bom dia or olá, a line like está bom tempo, não está, meaning nice weather, is it not, works almost anywhere. It is neutral, shared by everyone, and asks for nothing personal.