Korean Weather Vocabulary: 45 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Weather Vocabulary at a Glance

This list follows a weather report from top to bottom: the sky, the water that falls, the wind, the temperature, the air and the warnings. It sits in Nature and the World. For the single word 날씨 and a short lookup, see weather in Korean. This page is the longer list.

Which Weather Words Should You Learn First?

Learn 날씨, 비, 눈, 바람 and 구름 first, with the verbs 오다 and 불다. Then add 더워요 and 추워요 and 미세먼지. That set lets you ask about the weather and answer in plain speech.

• Words to say. 날씨, 비, 눈, 바람, 구름, 미세먼지, 장마.
• Words to recognise. 기온, 강수 확률, 주의보, 경보, 맑음, 흐림. They appear on forecasts and alerts.
• Words to attach to a number. 영상 and 영하 with 도. They need Sino-Korean numbers.

A useful split: 날씨 is the weather of a day, while 기후 (climate) is the long-term pattern, which is not on this list. 기온 is the temperature of the air in a report, and 온도 is any temperature, such as a room or a drink. The scene below shows a landscape with ten numbered conditions.

Word · 10

1. 1

   구름

   Play

   gureum

   cloud

2. 2

   맑음

   Play

   malgeum

   clear (sky)

3. 3

   흐림

   Play

   heurim

   cloudy

4. 4

   비

   Play

   bi

   rain

5. 5

   소나기

   Play

   sonagi

   sudden shower

6. 6

   폭우

   Play

   pogu

   downpour

7. 7

   바람

   Play

   baram

   wind

8. 8

   우박

   Play

   ubak

   hail

9. 9

   온도

   Play

   ondo

   temperature

10. 10

    한파

    Play

    hanpa

    cold wave

Sun and Sky

Weather talk starts with 날씨, the word for the weather itself, and the sky above it. 하늘 is the sky, 해 is the sun and 구름 is cloud. On a forecast the sky is written as a noun: 맑음 for clear and 흐림 for cloudy. In speech you use the verbs, 맑아요 and 흐려요. 무지개, the rainbow, is a favourite after-rain word.

Example Sentences

The most useful sentence on the page is the small-talk question 오늘 날씨 어때요?, how is the weather today. Ten answers cover most days: 맑아요, 흐려요, 비가 와요, 눈이 와요, 바람이 불어요, 더워요, 추워요, 따뜻해요, 시원해요, 미세먼지가 나빠요. Each one uses a different verb, so read them aloud. The verbs 맑다, 흐리다, 따뜻하다 and 시원하다 end in -아요/-어요/-해요, while 덥다 and 춥다 change ㅂ to 우: 더워요, 추워요.

The sky is the backdrop. Rain and snow are what falls out of it.

How Do You Say Rain and Snow in Korean?

Rain is 비 and snow is 눈, and both use the verb 오다, to come: 비가 와요, 눈이 와요. You can also use 내리다, to fall, as in 눈이 내려요. Korean has a clear scale: 소나기 is a short shower, 폭우 is a downpour, 진눈깨비 is sleet and 폭설 is heavy snow. The prefix 폭 means violent, and it appears again in 폭풍 and 폭염. 장마 is the long rainy season of early summer.

Notice that 장마 is both a weather word and a calendar marker, and the seasons page places it in summer.

Wind and Storms

Wind is 바람, and it takes the verb 불다, to blow: 바람이 불어요. A strong wind is 강풍, a typhoon is 태풍 and a violent storm is 폭풍. 천둥 is the sound and 번개 is the flash. You see 번개 before you hear 천둥, but the set phrase is 천둥 번개. Hail is 우박, which falls with 떨어지다. See Korean Natural Disasters Vocabulary.

Typhoons reach Korea mostly in the second half of summer. The wording on a warning page uses these same nouns.

How Do You Say Temperature in Korean?

Temperature is 온도 in general and 기온 on a weather report. 체감온도 is the feels-like temperature. To say a number, use 영상 for above zero and 영하 for below zero, then the number, then 도 (degrees): 영하 십 도. Numbers in a forecast are Sino-Korean: 십, 이십, 삼십. Extreme heat and cold have their own words, 폭염 and 한파. Two common phrases are 더위를 먹다 (to suffer in the heat) and 추위를 타다 (to be sensitive to the cold).

In daily talk you rarely say the number. You say 더워요 or 추워요 and, if needed, add 영상 or 영하 with the figure.

Air Quality

Air quality is a daily topic in Korea. 미세먼지 is fine dust and 초미세먼지 is ultrafine dust. 황사 is yellow dust, blown in from desert regions in spring. Forecast apps give a grade for each, usually 좋음 (good), 보통 (normal), 나쁨 (bad) and 매우 나쁨 (very bad). People wear a 마스크 on bad days and say 공기가 나빠요 about the air.

안개 is natural fog and has nothing to do with pollution. Do not translate 미세먼지 as mist; it is dust.

How Do You Say Weather Reports in Korean?

A forecast is a 일기예보 or just 예보. The government agency is 기상청. A 강수 확률 is the chance of rain, usually given in percent, and 습도 is humidity. Alerts have two levels: 주의보 is an advisory and 경보 is a warning. They are attached to the thing they warn about, as in 태풍 주의보 or 한파 경보. Reading these words lets you follow a news bulletin or a phone alert.

A phone alert with 경보 is more serious than one with 주의보. If you see 경보 and the word for a heavy event, stay indoors and follow local instructions.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Several weather words have tense sounds and sound changes. Standard pronunciation follows the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) rules, and the romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which does not mark every sound change.

Tensing after a stop is the pattern to master: ㄱ, ㅂ or ㅅ at the end of a syllable makes the next ㄷ, ㅅ or ㅂ tight. Say 폭설 with a clear stop after 폭 and no breath on the next sound.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each word and sentence has its own clip. The five clips below replay the hardest words slowly. Play one, repeat it aloud, then play it again and compare.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Weather Words?

Five mistakes come up again and again.

1. Using the wrong verb with wind. 바람이 와요 is wrong. Wind blows: 바람이 불어요. Rain and snow come: 비가 와요, 눈이 와요.
2. Reading 미세먼지 as mist. It means fine dust. Mist or light fog is 안개.
3. Saying the minus sign. Say 영하 오 도, not 마이너스 오 도, in a forecast. In casual speech, 마이너스 is also heard.
4. Using 맑음 in speech. On a forecast 맑음 is fine. In conversation say 날씨가 맑아요 or just 맑아요.
5. Mixing 온도 and 기온. Use 기온 for the air outside and 온도 for a room, a bath or a drink.

These mistakes are mostly about which verb or noun fits which context. Once those are clear, the vocabulary falls into place. The practice section turns the list into drills.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Use three steps. Run the flashcard deck in recognition mode until the 45 words come quickly. Switch to listening mode, then take the quiz. The deck holds every word on this page with audio, and your progress stays in your browser. The vocabulary flashcard decks page lists the other decks.

A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. For practice, write today's weather in Korean each morning: 오늘은 맑아요, then the 기온.

Where to Go Next

After this page, continue with Korean Natural Disasters Vocabulary or Animals. For summer and winter patterns, see Seasons. To move up a level, return to Nature and the World.

Pages in This Section

See Korean Natural Disasters Vocabulary.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Cloud in Korean?

Cloud is 구름 (gureum). Say 구름이 많아요 for there are many clouds, and 구름이 꼈어요 for it has clouded over. The word has no plural marking, so one cloud and many clouds are both 구름. On a forecast, a cloudy sky is written 흐림 or 구름 많음.

How Do You Pronounce 미세먼지 (misemeonji)?

Say mi-se-meon-ji with four even syllables. The word is not changed by any sound rule, so it is said as spelled. 미세 means tiny and 먼지 means dust. Press the audio button on this page to hear the word and the slow clip.

How Many Weather Words Should I Learn First?

Start with about ten: 날씨, 비, 눈, 바람, 구름, 더워요, 추워요, 미세먼지, 장마 and 태풍. With them you can answer 오늘 날씨 어때요? on most days. The whole list of 45 takes about nine days at five new words a day, with a short review of earlier words each day.

Where Can I Practise Weather Words with Flashcards?

Use the deck on this page, which holds all 45 words with Hangul, romanization and audio, in recognition and listening modes. The vocabulary flashcard decks page lists the decks for seasons, plants and other nature topics. Progress is saved only in your browser.

Is the Romanization on This Page Official?

It follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which South Korea adopted on 7 July 2000 and whose rules the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) publishes. It is a learning aid and does not mark every sound change, so rely on the Hangul and the audio.

Is There a Printable Worksheet for Weather Words?

A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. For practice, use the flashcard deck, which carries the same 45 words, or copy the tables by hand. Writing one line about the weather each morning is a quick daily drill.