Talking about the weather is the friendliest small talk there is, and Mandarin makes it easy on the memory: most of the vocabulary reuses characters you already know. This free printable page collects twelve of them, from 天气 (tiān qì, weather) and 晴天 (qíng tiān, a clear day) through to 凉快 (liáng kuai, pleasantly cool). Each one comes with pinyin above 田字格 (tián zì gé) tracing grids and prints or saves as a PDF with no signup.
Rain falls, wind scrapes
In English rain is a noun that behaves like a state; in Mandarin it is something the sky does. 下雨 literally means fall-rain, 下雪 is fall-snow, and 刮风 is scrape-wind. Because they are verb phrases, you cannot stack 很 in front of them the way you can with 冷 or 热. To say it is raining now you add the particle 了: 下雨了. Temperature words behave the opposite way and act as adjectives, so 今天很冷 needs no verb for "is" at all.
The 雨 roof and the sun in 晴
Look at the top of 雪 and 雾 while you trace them. Both carry 雨 squashed into a roof, the component Chinese uses to file anything that falls out of the sky, and you will meet it again in 雷 for thunder. 晴 splits differently: the sun radical 日 sits on the left with 青 on the right supplying the sound, which is why 晴, 请 and 情 rhyme. 阴 pairs with 阳 as the shady and sunny sides of a hill.
Trace the guided strokes first, then fill the empty squares from memory. To turn today's forecast into a sentence you can practise, try the Chinese example sentence bank, or build a custom page in the Chinese worksheet generator.
Words on this worksheet: 天气 (tiānqì) — weather; 晴天 (qíng tiān) — sunny day; 阴天 (yīn tiān) — cloudy day, overcast sky; 云 (yún) — cloud; 下雨 (xiàyǔ) — rain; 下雪 (xià xuě) — snow, snowing; 刮风 (guā fēng) — to be windy; 雾 (wù) — fog; 冷 (lěng) — cold; 热 (rè) — heat; 凉快 (liángkuai) — Pleasantly cool; 暖和 (nuǎnhuo) — warm.
Hear these words in beginner Mandarin songs.
Frequently asked questions
Is this worksheet free to download as a PDF?
Yes. The Weather Words worksheet is free to print or save as a PDF, with no account or email needed. Press Print / Download PDF: on a computer the PDF opens ready to print or save, and on a phone it goes to your share sheet. A4 or US Letter follows your country.
What level is this worksheet?
It suits learners from about HSK 2. That is an editorial estimate for the Weather Words topic, not an official HSK word list, so a few of its 12 words may be harder. Each word prints with tone-marked pinyin and an English meaning to help.
Can I print copies for my class?
Yes. Print as many copies as you like — it's free. For a class set, press Change the words and open More options to add an answer key, a class line or a dictation page; the Student PDF leaves the key out. Test turns the sheet into a quiz.
Can I change the words or use traditional characters?
Yes. Press Change the words to open this sheet in the generator, then add, remove or replace words, up to 20 per sheet. Set Characters to Traditional to switch the whole sheet to traditional characters; a word with no verified traditional form stays as you typed it.
How should I practice with this worksheet?
Trace the gray guides first, saying each word aloud, then cover the model and write the characters from memory in the blank boxes. Scan the sheet's QR code or open the Practice tab to watch each stroke animate, trace it, then recall it without a guide. Revisit missed words a day or two later.