Korean Weather Expressions

In Korean, weather expressions go beyond just sun and rain—they capture subtle emotional tones and natural details. This comprehensive guide covers the most commonly used weather expressions, grouped by topic. You’ll find both casual and forecast-style terms, along with English explanations and example sentences.

1. Sky and General Weather Conditions

맑다 – clear
오늘 정말 맑네요. – It’s really clear today.
화창하다 – bright and sunny
주말 내내 화창한 날씨가 계속됐어요. – It stayed sunny all weekend.
구름이 끼다 – to be cloudy
하늘에 구름이 잔뜩 껴 있어요. – The sky is full of clouds.
구름 한 점 없다 – not a single cloud
오늘은 구름 한 점 없이 맑아요. – There’s not a cloud in the sky today.
먹구름이 끼다 – dark rain clouds gather
먹구름이 몰려오고 있어요. – Dark clouds are rolling in.
흐리다 – cloudy
하루 종일 흐릴 거래요. – They say it’ll be cloudy all day.
우중충하다 – gloomy sky
우중충한 날씨 때문에 기분이 가라앉네요. – The gloomy weather is affecting my mood.
을씨년스럽다 – dreary, spooky atmosphere
을씨년스러운 날씨에 괜히 무섭다. – The weather feels so bleak, it’s a little scary.
햇빛이 쨍쨍하다 – the sunlight is strong
햇빛이 쨍쨍해서 눈이 부셔요. – The sun is so bright it hurts my eyes.
하늘이 뿌옇다 – the sky is hazy
미세먼지 때문에 하늘이 뿌옇게 보여요. – The sky looks hazy because of fine dust.

2. Rain-Related Expressions

비가 오다 / 내리다 – it rains / rain falls
밖에 비가 오고 있어요. – It’s raining outside.
비가 오락가락하다 – rain comes and goes
비가 오락가락해서 우산을 가져가는 게 좋겠어요. – The rain is on and off, so you should take an umbrella.
이슬비 – light dew-like rain
이슬비가 내려서 우산 없이도 걸을 수 있었어요. – It was just light drizzle, so I could walk without an umbrella.
안개비 – misty drizzle
아침에 안개비가 내려서 앞이 잘 안 보였어요. – A misty drizzle was falling in the morning, making it hard to see.
가랑비 – fine drizzle
가랑비에 옷이 조금씩 젖었어요. – My clothes gradually got wet in the fine drizzle.
보슬비 – soft, quiet drizzles
보슬비가 내리는 걸 보며 커피를 마셨어요. –
I drank coffee while watching the soft drizzle fall.
소나기 – sudden shower
갑자기 소나기가 내려서 다 젖었어요. – A sudden shower drenched me.
폭우 – heavy rain
폭우로 도로가 침수됐어요. – Roads are flooded due to the heavy rain.
비가 억수같이 쏟아지다 – to pour
비가 억수같이 쏟아졌어요. – It rained like crazy.
하늘에 구멍이 뚫린 것 같다 – figurative expression for heavy rain
하늘에 구멍 뚫린 것처럼 비가 와요. – It’s raining like there’s a hole in the sky.
진눈깨비 – sleet
진눈깨비가 내려서 길이 미끄러워요. – Sleet is falling and the roads are slippery.
단비 – long-awaited rain
가뭄 끝에 단비가 내렸어요. – After a long drought, the rain finally came.
산성비 – acid rain
산성비가 예보돼서 외출을 자제했어요. – Acid rain was forecast, so I stayed indoors.
강우 / 강수량 – rainfall / amount of rain
오늘 강수량은 30mm였어요. – Today’s rainfall was 30mm.
가뭄 – drought
장기간 가뭄으로 농작물이 타들어가고 있어요. – Crops are drying out due to prolonged drought.
집중호우 – localized heavy rain
오늘 새벽에 집중호우가 쏟아져서 도로가 침수됐어요. – A localized heavy rain poured early this morning, flooding the roads.

3. Snow-Related Expressions

눈이 오다 / 내리다 – it snows
지금 눈이 오고 있어요. – It’s snowing right now.
첫눈 – the first snow
첫눈 오는 날 만나기로 했잖아. – We said we’d meet on the first snow.
가랑눈 – fine snow
가랑눈이 조용히 내리고 있었어요 – Fine snow was falling quietly.
가루눈 – powdery snow
밤새 가루눈이 내려서 뽀얗게 쌓였어요 – Powdery snow fell overnight, covering everything in white.
포슬눈 – soft and fluffy snow
포슬눈이 바람에 흩날렸어요 – Soft and fluffy snow fluttered in the wind.
싸라기눈 – pellet-like snow
갑자기 싸라기눈이 얼굴에 튀었어요 – Pellet-like snow suddenly hit my face.
소나기눈 – sudden snow shower
소나기눈이 쏟아지더니 금방 그쳤어요 – A sudden snow shower poured down and quickly stopped.
눈송이 / 함박눈 – large snowflakes
함박눈이 펑펑 쏟아지고 있어요. – Big, fluffy snowflakes are pouring down.
눈보라 / 눈갈기 / 눈바람 – snowstorm
눈보라 때문에 앞이 안 보여요. – The snowstorm makes it hard to see.
눈꽃 – snow flowers (snow on tree branches)
산에 눈꽃이 피었어요. – Snow has settled beautifully on the trees.
봄눈 – spring snow
봄눈이 내려서 벚꽃 위에 쌓였어요. – Spring snow fell on the cherry blossoms.

4. Temperature-Related Expressions

덥다 – hot
오늘 정말 덥네요. 땀이 줄줄 나요. – It’s really hot today. I’m sweating nonstop.
무더위 – sweltering heat
무더위가 기승을 부려서 에어컨 없이는 못 살겠어요. – The sweltering heat is so intense that I can’t live without air conditioning.
찜통 더위 – steaming heat
찜통 더위 속에서 한낮에 걷는 건 정말 고역이에요. – Walking in the middle of the day during this steaming heat is truly exhausting.
쪄 죽겠다 – it’s boiling hot / I feel like I’m boiling
밖에 잠깐 나갔다 왔는데 진짜 쪄 죽는 줄 알았어요. – I just stepped outside for a bit and felt like I was boiling alive.
폭염 – heat wave
폭염 주의보가 내려졌어요. – A heat wave warning has been issued.
열대야 – tropical night
열대야 때문에 밤새 뒤척였어요. – I couldn’t sleep because of the tropical night.
포근하다 – warm and cozy
포근한 날씨에 기분이 좋아졌어요. – The warm weather lifted my mood.
춥다 / 쌀쌀하다 – cold / chilly
쌀쌀해서 얇은 외투 입었어요. – It’s chilly, so I wore a light jacket.
한파 – cold wave
이번 주말에 한파가 올 거예요. – A cold snap is coming this weekend.
칼바람 – icy, sharp wind
칼바람이 불어서 얼굴이 아파요. – The icy wind hurts my face.
환절기 – change of seasons
환절기엔 감기 조심하세요. – Be careful not to catch a cold during seasonal changes.
일교차 – daily temperature gap
일교차가 커서 옷 입기 애매해요. – The big temperature swing makes it hard to dress.
기온이 뚝 떨어지다 – sudden temperature drop
어제보다 기온이 뚝 떨어졌어요. – The temperature dropped sharply compared to yesterday.

5. Wind, Seasonal Phenomena, and Air Quality

바람이 분다 – the wind blows
오늘은 시원하게 바람이 불어요. – The wind is blowing nicely today.
바람이 세다 – the wind is strong
바람이 너무 세서 우산이 뒤집혔어요. –
The wind was so strong that my umbrella flipped inside out.
바람이 살랑살랑 불다 – a gentle breeze blows
공원에서 바람이 살랑살랑 불어서 기분이 좋아요. – A gentle breeze is blowing in the park, and it feels pleasant.
바람이 매섭다 – the wind is fierce/bitter
바람이 매서워서 얼굴이 얼얼해요. – The wind is so bitter that my face feels numb.
돌풍 – sudden gust
돌풍이 지나가면서 간판이 떨어졌어요. – A gust blew by and knocked over a sign.
태풍 / 폭풍 – typhoon / storm
이번 태풍은 강력하대요. – This typhoon is said to be strong.
천둥번개가 치다 – thunder and lightning
천둥번개가 무섭게 쳤어요. – The thunder and lightning were frightening.
우박이 떨어지다 – hail falls
갑자기 우박이 떨어졌어요. – Hail suddenly started falling.
장마 – monsoon season
장마철엔 습하고 비가 자주 와요. – The monsoon season is humid and rainy.
미세먼지 – fine dust
오늘은 미세먼지가 심하니까 마스크 꼭 써요. – Wear a mask today due to the fine dust.
황사 – yellow dust
오늘 황사 때문에 하늘이 뿌옇고, 목이 따가워요. – Because of the yellow dust today, the sky is hazy and my throat feels scratchy.
꽃가루 / 송진가루 – pollen / pine pollen
봄에는 꽃가루나 송진가루 때문에 알레르기 증상이 심해질 수 있어요. – Allergies can get worse because of pollen or pine dust in spring.

6. Talking About Temperature in Korean

오늘 몇 도예요? – What’s the temperature today?
지금 25도예요. – It’s 25°C now.
영상 10도 / 영하 5도 – +10°C / -5°C
최고 기온 / 최저 기온 – high / low temperature
오늘 최고 기온은 28도, 최저 기온은 16도입니다. – Today’s high is 28°C, low is 16°C.
기온이 뚝 떨어졌어요. – The temperature suddenly dropped.
체감 온도 – perceived (feels-like) temperature
체감 온도는 실제보다 더 추워요. – It feels colder than the actual temperature.

7. Humidity-Related Expressions

습하다 – humid
습해서 불쾌지수가 높아요. – It’s humid and uncomfortable.
후덥지근하다 / 후텁지근하다 – hot and sticky
후텁지근해서 땀이 나요. – It’s so muggy I’m sweating.
꾸리꾸리하다 – stale and damp (indoor)
장마철에는 방이 꾸리꾸리해요. – The room feels damp during the rainy season.
눅눅하다 – damp
빨래가 눅눅해서 다시 말렸어요. – The laundry was damp, so I dried it again.
건조하다 – dry
겨울에는 공기가 건조해서 가습기가 필요해요. – The air is dry in winter, so I need a humidifier.
불쾌지수가 높다 – high discomfort index
오늘은 불쾌지수가 매우 높다고 해요. – They say the discomfort index is very high today.

8. Why Koreans Say “Rain Comes” Instead of “Rain Falls” (비가 ‘내리는’ 게 아니라 ‘오는’ 이유)

In Korean, people naturally say 비가 오다 (“rain comes”) rather than 비가 내리다 (“rain falls”), even though both are grammatically correct. The preferred verb for both rain and snow is 오다 (to come).

Why is “오다” used?

Natural flow of language: “오다” feels more intuitive and softer in everyday speech. It fits Korean’s tendency to describe events as approaching or arriving.
Cultural background: In the past, rain was precious, especially for agriculture. It was seen as a blessing that came rather than something that merely fell. This emotional and cultural association still lingers in modern Korean.
Everyday vs. formal use:
- In casual speech, people say:
  오늘 비 와요. – It’s raining today.
  눈 왔다! – It snowed!
- In weather forecasts or reports, you may also hear:
  오늘은 10mm의 비가 내렸습니다. – 10mm of rain fell today.

So while 내리다 (to fall) is technically correct and used in formal or written contexts, 오다 (to come) remains far more natural in real-life conversations.

Final Thoughts

Weather expressions in Korean go far beyond basic words for “rain” or “snow.” They reflect not only environmental changes but also emotional tones, cultural attitudes, and even poetic imagery. Korean captures the weather in a deeply human way.

Whether you’re listening to a forecast or chatting with a Korean friend about the weather, understanding these expressions will help you connect more naturally—and maybe even express how the weather makes you feel.

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