Weather words and weather-related expressions in Dutch (Nederlands) with English equivalents.
In the Netherlands the weather is important, and people tend to talk about it, and particularly to complain about it a lot.
| Nederlands | English |
|---|---|
| Het weer | The weather |
| Het weerbericht | The weather forecast |
| De weersverwachting | The weather forecast |
| Het is zonnig | It is sunny |
| De zon schijnt | The sun is shining |
| Het is warm | It is warm |
| Het is heet | It is hot |
| Het is snikheet | It is stifling hot / sweltering ("It is snob hot") |
| Het is bloedheet | It is boiling hot / sweltering ("It is blood hot") |
| Hittegolf | Heat wave |
| De mussen vallen van het dak | The sparrows fall from the roof = It's very hot |
| Rokjesdag | "Skirt day" - The very first warm day in spring when women start to wear a skirt |
| Het is lekker weer | It is a comfortable temperature |
| Het is koel | It is cool |
| Het is fris | It is chilly |
| Het is koud | It is cold |
| Het vriest | It is freezing |
| Het is ijzig koud | it is freezing cold |
| De weersomslag | A change in the weather - usually from good to bad weather |
| De neerslag | Precipitation |
| Het regent | It is raining |
| Het miezert | It is drizzling |
| Motregen | Drizzle |
| Een bui / een regenbui | A shower / a rain shower |
| Een hondenweer | Dog weather - weather you would only go out in to walk your dog |
| Onweer | Thunderstorm |
| Het onweert | It is thundering |
| Donder en bliksem | Thunder and lightning |
| Er hangt onweer in de lucht | There is a storm brewing |
| De mist | The fog |
| Het is mistig | It is foggy |
| De nevel | The mist |
| Het is nevelig | It is misty |
| Hagel | Hail |
| Het hagelt | It is hailing |
| Sneeuw | Snow |
| Het sneeuwt | It is snowing |
| Natte sneeuw | Wet snow |
| Sneeuwstorm | A blizzard |
| Ijzel | Glazed frost |
| Ijzelen | It is icing up |
| De wind | The wind |
| De storm | The storm |
| De windkracht | The wind force |
| De wervelwind / de windhoos | The whirlwind |
| Windstil | calm |
| Een briesje | A breeze |
| Een zuchtje wind | A breath of wind |
| Een windvlaag | A gust of wind |
| Waaien | To blow |
| Het waait | It is windy |
| De wind waait | The wind is blowing |
| Uitwaaien | Get a breath of fresh air - you go for a walk in the wind to make your head clear |
| Tegenwind | Headwind / adverse wind |
| Ik heb weer tegenwind | I have headwind again - very important when you are on a bike |
| Ik heb de wind mee | I have the wind behind me - very important when you are on a bike |
| Zijwind | Crosswind |
| Ijzige wind | Icy wind |
| Snijdende wind | Cutting or piercing wind |
| De wolk | The cloud |
| Het is bewolkt | It is cloudy |
| Schapenwolkjes | Sheep clouds |
| Wolkeloos | Cloudless |
| Geen wolkje aan de lucht | No cloud in the sky = there is no problem at all |
| Nederlands | English |
|---|---|
| Een stortbui / een hoosbui | A downpour |
| Een wolkbreuk | A cloudburst |
| Het regent pijpenstelen | It's raining pipe stems = It's raining heavily |
| Het komt met bakken uit de lucht | It falls with buckets from the sky = It's raining heavily |
Other idioms for heavy rain in various languages
Dutch weather words and expressions supplied by Anke Rutten
A recording of these words by Anke Rutten
Hear some Dutch weather-related words and expressions:
More weather words in Dutch
https://www.learndutch.org/lessons/the-weather-in-dutch/
https://www.heardutchhere.net/duweather2.html
https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/the/dutch-word-for-weather.html
https://dutchreview.com/expat/learn-dutch/netherlands-weather-its-raining-words-hallelujah/
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
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