Weather & Seasons - Korean Course

Korea has four sharply different seasons: cherry blossoms in spring, a sticky monsoon summer, crisp autumn foliage and a dry, freezing winter. Koreans talk about the weather constantly, and it's the easiest small talk you'll ever have. There's also a grammar reason this lesson comes right after Lesson 21: the two most-used weather words, 덥다 (hot) and 춥다 (cold), are both ㅂ-irregular. Weather is where you'll practise that pattern until it's automatic.

🌤️ Weather Vocabulary

Korean	Meaning	Korean	Meaning
날씨	weather	기온	temperature
맑다	to be clear / sunny	흐리다	to be cloudy
비	rain	눈	snow
바람	wind	안개	fog
덥다	to be hot	춥다	to be cold
따뜻하다	to be warm	시원하다	to be cool / refreshing
쌀쌀하다	to be chilly	무덥다	to be hot and muggy
습하다	to be humid	건조하다	to be dry
태풍	typhoon	미세먼지	fine dust (air pollution)
우산	umbrella	장마	monsoon season
일기예보	weather forecast	하늘	sky

Weather "events" use 오다 and 불다

Rain and snow come (오다) and wind blows (불다), always with the subject particle 이/가:

Korean	Meaning
비가 와요.	It's raining.
눈이 와요.	It's snowing.
바람이 많이 불어요.	It's very windy.
오늘 날씨가 어때요?	How's the weather today?
오늘 날씨가 좋아요.	The weather is nice today.
하늘이 맑아요.	The sky is clear.
날씨가 흐려요.	It's cloudy.
미세먼지가 심해요.	The fine dust is bad.
오늘은 영하 5도예요.	It's minus five degrees today.

Temperatures use Sino-Korean numbers + 도 (degrees Celsius): 이십오 도 = 25°. Below zero is 영하: 영하 오 도 = −5°.

🧩 Grammar in Action: ㅂ-Irregulars and Friends

From Lesson 21: when a stem ends in ㅂ and the ending starts with a vowel, many verbs turn that ㅂ into 우. Then 우 + 어요 contracts to 워요. Before a consonant, nothing changes.

Formula: ㅂ-irregular

덥 + 어요 → 더우 + 어요 → 더워요
춥 + 었어요 → 추우 + 었어요 → 추웠어요
덥 + ㄹ 거예요 → 더우 + ㄹ 거예요 → 더울 거예요
덥 + 지 않아요 → 덥지 않아요 (consonant ending: no change)

Dictionary	Present	Past (L15)	Future (L17)	Negative (L10)
덥다 (hot)	더워요	더웠어요	더울 거예요	안 더워요 / 덥지 않아요
춥다 (cold)	추워요	추웠어요	추울 거예요	안 추워요 / 춥지 않아요
무덥다 (muggy)	무더워요	무더웠어요	무더울 거예요	안 무더워요

Why does this happen? Historically these stems ended in a soft sound between ㅂ and ㅜ. It survived as 우 before vowels and hardened into ㅂ before consonants. You don't need the history, just the rule: ㅂ + vowel → 우.

⚠️ Not every ㅂ-verb is irregular

입다 (to wear) is regular: 코트를 입어요, not 이워요. The same goes for 좁다 → 좁아요 and 잡다 → 잡아요. The weather adjectives 덥다, 춥다 and 무덥다 are all irregular, as are 가깝다 (가까워요) and 어렵다 (어려워요). When in doubt, check a dictionary: they mark irregulars.

The other weather verbs

Dictionary	Present	Past	Future	Note
흐리다	흐려요	흐렸어요	흐릴 거예요	regular: ㅣ + 어 → ㅕ
맑다	맑아요	맑았어요	맑을 거예요	regular; say [말가요]
불다	불어요	불었어요	불 거예요	ㄹ-stem: no extra ㄹ in 불 거예요
오다	와요	왔어요	올 거예요	ㅗ + 아 → ㅘ
어떻다	어때요	어땠어요	어떨 거예요	ㅎ-irregular (Lesson 21)
따뜻하다	따뜻해요	따뜻했어요	따뜻할 거예요	하다 → 해요

From Lessons 17 and 19: forecasts and advice

Korean	English
내일은 비가 올 거예요.	It'll rain tomorrow. (prediction, L17)
주말에 추울까요?	Do you think it'll be cold this weekend? (L17)
우산을 가져가야 해요.	You need to take an umbrella. (L19)
오늘은 밖에서 운동하지 마세요.	Don't exercise outside today. (L19)
마스크를 쓰세요.	Please wear a mask. (L19)
코트를 꼭 입으세요.	Be sure to wear a coat. (L19)

💡 춥다 or 차갑다? 덥다 or 뜨겁다?

English "cold" and "hot" each do two jobs; Korean splits them. 춥다 / 덥다 describe the air, the weather, or how your body feels: 추워요! = "I'm cold!" 차갑다 / 뜨겁다 describe things you touch: 물이 차가워요 (the water is cold), 커피가 뜨거워요 (the coffee is hot). And yes, 차갑다 and 뜨겁다 are ㅂ-irregular too.

🌸 Korea's Four Seasons (사계절)

Season	Korean	Months	Highlights
Spring	봄	March–May	Cherry blossoms (벚꽃), mild days, fine dust warnings
Summer	여름	June–August	Hot and humid, 장마 monsoon, beaches, 삼계탕 and 빙수
Autumn	가을	September–November	Autumn leaves (단풍), clear skies, 추석 harvest holiday
Winter	겨울	December–February	Cold and dry, skiing, hot stews (찌개), 떡국 at Lunar New Year

Korean	English
봄에는 따뜻해요.	It's warm in spring.
여름에는 덥고 습해요.	Summer is hot and humid. (-고: Lesson 23 preview)
가을에는 시원해요.	It's cool in autumn.
겨울에는 정말 추워요.	It's really cold in winter.
어느 계절을 제일 좋아해요?	Which season do you like best?
저는 가을을 제일 좋아해요.	I like autumn best.

💡 장마 (Jangma): Monsoon Season

Korea's monsoon (장마) usually runs from late June to late July. Expect days of heavy rain, high humidity and occasional flooding. After it ends come the hottest weeks of the year, marked by the three 복날 days (초복, 중복, 말복). On those days people eat 삼계탕 (ginseng chicken soup), fighting heat with heat. There's even an idiom for it: 이열치열 (以熱治熱).

⚠️ 미세먼지 (Fine Dust)

Fine dust (미세먼지) is a real concern, especially in late winter and spring. Koreans check air-quality apps daily and wear masks on bad days. You'll hear 미세먼지가 심해요 (the fine dust is bad) and 오늘은 미세먼지가 나빠요 all the time. Check before planning outdoor activities!

🍂 Seasonal Activities

Season	Korean	Activity
봄	꽃구경 가다	Go flower-viewing (cherry blossoms)
봄	소풍 가다	Go on a picnic
여름	바다에 가다	Go to the beach
여름	빙수를 먹다	Eat shaved ice (빙수)
가을	단풍 구경 가다	Go see the autumn leaves
가을	등산 가다	Go hiking
겨울	스키를 타다	Go skiing
겨울	붕어빵을 먹다	Eat fish-shaped pastry (street food)

💬 Dialogue: A Phone Call Between Seoul and Busan

Speaker	Korean	English
지수 (Seoul)	거기 날씨가 어때요?	How's the weather there?
Tom (Busan)	안 추워요. 하늘도 맑아요. 서울은요?	It's not cold. The sky is clear too. What about Seoul?
지수	너무 추워요! 오늘 아침에 영하 십 도였어요.	It's so cold! It was minus ten this morning.
Tom	와! 어제는 어땠어요?	Wow! How was it yesterday?
지수	어제도 추웠어요. 바람도 많이 불었어요.	It was cold yesterday too. It was very windy as well.
Tom	주말에 스키 타러 갈 거예요. 눈이 올까요?	I'm going skiing this weekend. Do you think it'll snow?
지수	일기예보를 봤어요. 강원도에는 눈이 올 거예요. 그리고 더 추울 거예요.	I checked the forecast. It'll snow in Gangwon Province. And it'll be even colder.
Tom	그럼 코트를 꼭 입어야 해요.	Then I'll definitely have to wear a coat.
지수	네, 감기에 걸리지 마세요!	Yes, don't catch a cold!

⚠️ Common Mistakes

덥어요 / 춥어요 ❌ → 더워요 / 추워요 ✅. ㅂ becomes 우 before a vowel.
더울을 거예요 or 덥을 거예요 ❌ → 더울 거예요 ✅. 더우 + ㄹ, with no extra 으.
입워요 ❌ → 입어요 ✅. 입다 is a regular ㅂ-verb.
커피가 더워요 ❌ → 커피가 뜨거워요 ✅. 덥다 is for weather, not for things you touch.
비가 해요 / 비가 있어요 ❌ → 비가 와요 ✅. Rain and snow "come".
불을 거예요 ❌ → 불 거예요 ✅. An ㄹ-stem already has its ㄹ.

Irregulars feel slippery at first. That's normal, not a sign you're "bad at grammar". Say 더워요, 추워요, 더울 거예요 aloud a dozen times today and they'll start to feel like single words.

✏️ Practice

Exercise 1 — ㅂ-irregular or regular? (polite present)

덥다 → 오늘 너무 _____. (Answer: 더워요)
춥다 → 겨울에는 정말 _____. (Answer: 추워요)
무덥다 → 8월에는 _____. (Answer: 무더워요)
가깝다 → 바다가 _____. (Answer: 가까워요)
입다 → 코트를 _____. (Answer: 입어요)
차갑다 → 물이 _____. (Answer: 차가워요)

Exercise 2 — Past (-았/었어요) and future (-(으)ㄹ 거예요)

덥다, past → 어제 _____. (Answer: 더웠어요)
춥다, past → 지난 겨울은 정말 _____. (Answer: 추웠어요)
덥다, future → 내일은 _____. (Answer: 더울 거예요)
춥다, future → 주말에 _____. (Answer: 추울 거예요)
흐리다, past → 어제는 날씨가 _____. (Answer: 흐렸어요)
맑다, future → 내일은 하늘이 _____. (Answer: 맑을 거예요)
불다, future → 바람이 많이 _____. (Answer: 불 거예요)
오다, future → 오후에 비가 _____. (Answer: 올 거예요)

Exercise 3 — Describe the weather (polite present)

흐리다 → 오늘은 날씨가 _____. (Answer: 흐려요)
맑다 → 하늘이 _____. (Answer: 맑아요)
불다 → 바람이 _____. (Answer: 불어요)
어떻다 → 서울 날씨가 _____? (Answer: 어때요)
오다 → 밖에 눈이 _____. (Answer: 와요)
따뜻하다 → 봄에는 _____. (Answer: 따뜻해요)

Exercise 4 — Say it in Korean

'spring' → _____ (Answer: 봄)
'summer' → _____ (Answer: 여름)
'autumn' → _____ (Answer: 가을)
'winter' → _____ (Answer: 겨울)
'umbrella' → _____ (Answer: 우산)
'monsoon season' → _____ (Answer: 장마)
'weather forecast' → _____ (Answer: 일기예보)

🧠 Check Your Understanding

❓ Common Questions

🌟 Going Further

Check today's weather for Seoul and your own city. Write a mini forecast for each: what it was like yesterday (past), today (present) and tomorrow (-(으)ㄹ 거예요), with one piece of advice (-(으)세요 or -지 마세요).
Collect five more ㅂ-irregular adjectives you've met (hint: 가깝다, 어렵다, 쉽다, 맵다, 뜨겁다) and write each in present, past and future.

🔮 Looking Ahead

You may have noticed how short your weather sentences are: "It's cold. It's windy. I'll wear a coat." Lesson 23: Connecting Clauses joins them: 춥고 바람이 불어요 (it's cold and windy), 추워서 코트를 입었어요 (it was cold, so I wore a coat), 비가 오면 집에 있을 거예요 (if it rains, I'll stay home). Your Korean is about to start sounding much more fluent.

🇰🇷 Lesson 22: Weather & Seasons