A1 vocabulary guide
Spanish weather: hace, está or hay?
Weather talk is a natural way to begin a conversation, but Spanish does not use one structure for every condition. The key is to learn the phrase with its verb: hace frío, está nublado, hay niebla.
Start with the pattern
Words are easier to keep when they make sense.
Use hacer for many general weather conditions and sensations: hace sol, hace viento, hace frío. Use estar with an adjective describing a state of the sky: está nublado, está despejado. Use hay with a noun for a phenomenon or amount: hay niebla, hay tormenta, hay nubes. These patterns are common, not a single rule that predicts every phrase.
To talk about a forecast, use va a llover (it is going to rain) or parece que… (it looks as if…). Temperature is expressed with tener or estar according to the context: Estamos a 18 grados is common for the current temperature; hace 18 grados is also heard.
Hear it in a sentence
Examples in everyday Spanish
En la costa hace viento, pero no llueve.
It is windy on the coast, but it isn’t raining.
Esta mañana había niebla en la carretera.
There was fog on the road this morning.
Parece que va a nevar en la sierra.
It looks as if it is going to snow in the mountains.
Hoy está despejado y hace bastante calor.
It is clear today and quite warm.
Listen for the local detail
A note on Spanish in Spain
- Weather expressions are idiomatic and can vary in detail by region. Llover and nevar are normally used impersonally: llueve, nieva.
- In Spain, calor can describe hot weather, while caliente usually describes something physically hot to the touch; context still matters.
Look out for
Common mistakes, made clearer
Avoid
Es frío hoy.
Use / understand
Hace frío hoy.
Weather cold is normally expressed with hacer.
Avoid
Hace nublado.
Use / understand
Está nublado.
Nublado describes the state of the sky and commonly takes estar.
Avoid
Es niebla en el valle.
Use / understand
Hay niebla en el valle.
Use hay with the noun niebla to say fog is present.
Five quick checks
Try it before you peek.
- 01
Choose the natural phrase: “It is sunny.”
Reveal answer and explanation
Hace sol.
Sol uses the expression hacer sol.
- 02
Complete: El cielo ___ nublado.
Reveal answer and explanation
está.
Estar describes the sky’s current state.
- 03
Say “There is fog.”
Reveal answer and explanation
Hay niebla.
Hay introduces the weather phenomenon as present.
- 04
Translate “It is going to rain.”
Reveal answer and explanation
Va a llover.
Ir a + infinitive expresses a near-future forecast.
- 05
Correct: Hace viento y es frío.
Reveal answer and explanation
Hace viento y hace frío.
Both wind and cold weather use hacer.
Still wondering
Questions about spanish weather: hace, está or hay?
When do I use hace, está and hay for weather?
Learn common chunks: hace frío/sol/viento, está nublado/despejado, hay niebla/tormenta. The verb depends on the expression, so memorise examples rather than translating directly.
Is tiempo always “weather”?
No. It can mean weather or time. El tiempo hace is not the phrase; ¿Qué tiempo hace? asks what the weather is like, while No tengo tiempo means I don’t have time.
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