Lesson 12: The Weather

Small talk in any language starts with the weather. In Hebrew it’s wonderfully short, because you often don’t need a verb at all.

A quick chat

Grammar: weather without “it is”

To say “it’s hot” or “it’s cold”, Hebrew uses just the adjective — no word for “it” and no word for “is”:

• חַם. cham. — “It’s hot.”
• קַר. kar. — “It’s cold.”
• הַיּוֹם חַם. hayom cham. — “Today it’s hot.”

For rain, Hebrew literally says the rain “comes down”, using the verb יוֹרֵד (yored, “descends”):

• יוֹרֵד גֶּשֶׁם. yored geshem. — “It’s raining.” (lit. “rain is coming down”)

To ask how the weather is, use אֵיךְ (eich, “how”):

• אֵיךְ מֶזֶג הָאֲוִיר? eich mezeg ha’avir? — “How’s the weather?”

Tip: מֶזֶג אֲוִיר (mezeg avir) literally means “mix of air” — a nice reminder that weather is just air doing its thing.

Vocabulary