Russian · TORFL Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 28
Какая погода?What's the weather like?
Talking about the weather and seasons. Vocabulary: погода, солнце, дождь, снег, ветер, холодно, тепло, жарко, зима, лето, время года. Key grammar: about the weather you speak WITHOUT a subject — just an adverb: "Холодно" (it is cold), "Тепло" (it is warm), "Жарко" (it is hot). Or "идёт" (goes): "Идёт дождь" (it is raining), "Идёт снег" (it is snowing); "светит солнце" (the sun shines). English speakers add "это" ("it"): "Это холодно" ✗ → "Холодно" ✓ — Russian needs no dummy subject. Seasons go into the instrumental case with the meaning "when": зима → зимой (in winter), лето → летом (in summer), весна → весной (in spring), осень → осенью (in autumn). Reading corner: silent and devoiced consonants in weather words (солнце = "sontse", снег = "snek", дождь = "dosht").
Dialogue
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
Это холодно / Холодно
- IvanПойдёмгулять,Майк?Shall we go for a walk, Mike?
- MikeНет,этохолодно.No, it is cold. (slip: Russian needs no «это»/«it» for the weather — just «Холодно»)
- IvanБез«это»!Просто«Холодно».Without «это»! Just «Холодно».
- MikeПонял:холодно.Иидётдождь.Got it: it is cold. And it is raining.
- IvanТогдаостанемсядомаивыпьемчаю.Then let's stay home and have some tea.
- MikeХорошо!Может,завтрабудеттепло.Good! Maybe tomorrow it will be warm.
Dialogue
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
Какое время года ты любишь?— Which season do you like?
- AnyaИван,какоевремягодатылюбишь?Ivan, which season do you like?
- IvanЛето.Летомтеплоисветитсолнце.Summer. In summer it is warm and the sun shines.
- AnyaАялюблюзиму.Зимойкрасиво:снег!And I love winter. In winter it is beautiful: snow!
- IvanНозимойоченьхолодно!But in winter it is very cold!
- AnyaХолодно,да—номожнокататьсяналыжах.Cold, yes — but you can go skiing.
- IvanЭтоправда!Зимойятожекатаюсь.That's true! In winter I ski too.
Vocabulary
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
- погода
nounweather
- солнце
nounsun (л is silent)
- дождь
nounrain (идёт дождь = it rains)
- снег
nounsnow (идёт снег = it snows)
- ветер
nounwind
- холодно
adverbcold (it is cold)
- тепло
adverbwarm (it is warm)
- жарко
adverbhot (it is hot)
- зима
nounwinter (зимой = in winter)
- лето
nounsummer (летом = in summer)
- времягода
nounseason
Grammar
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
Weather without a subject + seasons in the instrumental
Explanation
In Russian you speak about the weather briefly and without a subject. There are two ways. First — just an adverb: "Холодно" (cold), "Тепло" (warm), "Жарко" (hot), "Ветрено" (windy) — you can add "сегодня" (today): "Сегодня холодно". Second — the verb "идёт" (goes) with rain/snow or "светит" (shines) with the sun: "Идёт дождь", "Идёт снег", "Светит солнце". Important: Russian does NOT need a dummy subject "это" or "оно" like English "it". Typical mistake: English speakers say "Это холодно" ✗ (a calque of "it is cold") → correct is simply "Холодно" ✓. To say WHEN (in which season), put the word in the instrumental case: зима → зимой, лето → летом, весна → весной, осень → осенью. "Зимой холодно, а летом жарко" (In winter it is cold, and in summer it is hot).
Examples
- Сегодня холодно и идёт снег.Today it is cold and it is snowing.
- Летом жарко, светит солнце.In summer it is hot, the sun shines.
- Идёт дождь, возьми зонт.It is raining, take an umbrella.
- Зимой в Москве очень холодно.In winter it is very cold in Moscow.
Cyrillic
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
Немые и оглушённые согласные— Silent and devoiced consonants
In the weather words there are three reading traps. First — a silent letter: in "солнце" the "л" is not read at all: "SON-tse". Second — devoicing at the end of a word: the voiced "б, в, г, д, ж, з" at the end sound like the voiceless "п, ф, к, т, ш, с". So "снег" = "snek" (г → k), and "дождь" = "dosht" (жд + soft sign → "sht"). Third — "ц" is always a hard "ts": "солнце" = "SON-tsa". We write it as it is but read it by these rules. Read the words aloud.
Read the words aloud:
Want to actually learn this — with audio, spaced repetition and progress tracking?
Study in the app →