The weather is the classic way to start a conversation in any language, and German is no exception. Here are the words for the weather, and a few small-talk phrases to go with them.
Talking about the weather
Most weather verbs take the empty subject es: Es regnet (it is raining), Es schneit (it is snowing). For the sun it is the sun that does the shining: Die Sonne scheint. Temperatures are in Celsius, and you say the number and Grad: Es sind zwanzig Grad. (It is twenty degrees.)
Es regnet schon wieder.
It’s raining again.
Heute ist es sonnig und warm.
It’s sunny and warm today.
Many weather words are masculine: der Regen, der Schnee, der Wind and der Nebel. There are clues for such nouns in Der, die or das?, and das Wetter itself is neuter. For the numbers in a temperature, see German numbers, prices and money.
Starting a conversation
The usual opening is Wie geht’s? (How are you?). Among friends you can answer Gut, danke. Und dir? With someone you address as Sie, it is Und Ihnen? An honest Es geht means “so-so”, and it is a perfectly acceptable answer.
Wie geht’s? Schönes Wetter heute, oder?
How are you? Lovely weather today, isn’t it?
Gut, danke. Und dir?
Fine, thanks. And you?
In Germany Wie geht’s? can be taken as a genuine question, not just a greeting, so a longer answer is not unusual among people who know each other. If you are unsure whether to say dir or Ihnen, see Du or Sie?.
Keeping it going
Once the weather is out of the way, easy follow-ups include Was machst du am Wochenende? (What are you doing at the weekend?) and Woher kommst du? (Where are you from?).