Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
In Croatian, weather has no 'it'—use a standalone adverb with 'je' or a specific verb like 'pada'.
- Use 'Adverb + je' for states: 'Hladno je' (It is cold).
- Use 'Pada + Noun' for precipitation: 'Pada kiša' (It is raining).
- Never use 'Ono' or 'To' as a subject for weather.
- Negate with 'Nije' or 'Ne': 'Nije toplo' or 'Ne pada snijeg'.
Weather States (Adverb + Biti)
| Tense | Construction | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Present
|
Adverb + je
|
Hladno je.
|
It is cold.
|
|
Present (Neg)
|
Nije + Adverb
|
Nije hladno.
|
It is not cold.
|
|
Past
|
Bilo je + Adverb
|
Bilo je hladno.
|
It was cold.
|
|
Future
|
Bit će + Adverb
|
Bit će hladno.
|
It will be cold.
|
|
Question
|
Je li + Adverb?
|
Je li hladno?
|
Is it cold?
|
Precipitation (Padati + Noun)
| Tense | Verb Form | Noun | English |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Present
|
Pada
|
kiša / snijeg
|
It is raining / snowing.
|
|
Past
|
Padala je / Padao je
|
kiša / snijeg
|
It was raining / snowing.
|
|
Future
|
Padat će
|
kiša / snijeg
|
It will rain / snow.
|
Meanings
The construction used to describe atmospheric conditions, temperature, and natural phenomena without assigning a grammatical subject.
Atmospheric State (Adverbial)
Using a neuter adverb with the 3rd person singular of 'biti' (to be) to describe how it feels outside.
“Vani je vjetrovito.”
“Jučer je bilo oblačno.”
Precipitation (Verbal)
Using the verb 'padati' (to fall) followed by the noun for rain, snow, or hail.
“Pada kiša.”
“Pada snijeg.”
Active Natural Phenomena
Using specific impersonal verbs for events like thundering or lightning.
“Grmi.”
“Sijeva.”
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Affirmative State
|
Adverb + je
|
Sunčano je.
|
|
Negative State
|
Nije + Adverb
|
Nije vjetrovito.
|
|
Affirmative Action
|
Verb (3rd pers) + Noun
|
Pada snijeg.
|
|
Negative Action
|
Ne + Verb + Noun
|
Ne pada kiša.
|
|
Question (State)
|
Je li + Adverb?
|
Je li toplo?
|
|
Question (Action)
|
Pada li + Noun?
|
Pada li tuča?
|
|
Past State
|
Bilo je + Adverb
|
Bilo je maglovito.
|
|
Future Action
|
Padat će + Noun
|
Padat će kiša.
|
격식 수준 스펙트럼
Trenutačno su prisutne oborine. (Weather report vs. Casual talk)
Pada kiša. (Weather report vs. Casual talk)
Pada opet. (Weather report vs. Casual talk)
Lije ko blesavo. (Weather report vs. Casual talk)
Types of Weather Expressions
Adverbs (States)
- Hladno je It is cold
- Toplo je It is warm
- Oblačno je It is cloudy
Verbs (Actions)
- Pada kiša It is raining
- Puše vjetar Wind is blowing
- Grmi It is thundering
English vs. Croatian Weather
Choosing the Right Construction
Is it rain or snow?
Is it a general state?
Weather Vocabulary by Season
Ljeto
- • Vruće je
- • Sunčano je
- • Sparno je
Zima
- • Hladno je
- • Pada snijeg
- • Mraz je
수준별 예문
Sunčano je.
It is sunny.
Hladno je.
It is cold.
Pada kiša.
It is raining.
Toplo je.
It is warm.
Danas nije jako hladno.
Today it is not very cold.
Vani puše vjetar.
The wind is blowing outside.
Sutra će biti sunčano.
Tomorrow it will be sunny.
Pada li snijeg u Zagrebu?
Is it snowing in Zagreb?
Jučer je cijeli dan padala kiša.
Yesterday it rained all day.
Bilo je toliko maglovito da nismo ništa vidjeli.
It was so foggy that we didn't see anything.
Vrijeme se naglo pokvarilo.
The weather suddenly turned bad.
Očekuje se grmljavina navečer.
Thunder is expected in the evening.
Sparno je i teško se diše.
It's humid and hard to breathe.
Unatoč lošem vremenu, odlučili smo prošetati.
Despite the bad weather, we decided to take a walk.
Puše olujna bura koja nosi sve pred sobom.
A stormy bura is blowing, carrying everything in its path.
Nebo se razvedrilo nakon pljuska.
The sky cleared up after the shower.
Vrijeme je krajnje nepredvidivo u ovo doba godine.
The weather is extremely unpredictable at this time of year.
Sipi sitna kiša koja prodire do kostiju.
A fine drizzle is falling, soaking to the bone.
Zbog nesnosne vrućine, grad je potpuno pust.
Due to the unbearable heat, the city is completely deserted.
Atmosferski pritisak naglo opada, što najavljuje oluju.
Atmospheric pressure is dropping sharply, signaling a storm.
Zavladao je pravi kijamet, snijeg je zamelo sve puteve.
A real blizzard has taken over, snow has blocked all the roads.
Sunce nemilosrdno prži hercegovački kamen.
The sun is mercilessly scorching the Herzegovinian stone.
Ova južina mi stvara strašnu migrenu.
This south wind (jugo) is giving me a terrible migraine.
Nebo je olovno sivo, kao da će se svakog trena srušiti na nas.
The sky is leaden gray, as if it will collapse on us at any moment.
혼동하기 쉬운
Learners use 'Hladan' (adj) instead of 'Hladno' (adv).
The word is identical for both concepts.
Thinking 'padati' alone means 'to rain'.
자주 하는 실수
Ono je sunčano.
Sunčano je.
To je hladno.
Hladno je.
Ja sam toplo.
Meni je toplo.
Je sunčano.
Sunčano je.
Hladan je.
Hladno je.
Padao je kiša.
Padala je kiša.
Danas je kiša.
Danas pada kiša.
Bilo je sunčan.
Bilo je sunčano.
Vrijeme je hladno.
Hladno je.
Ne grmi li?
Zar ne grmi?
Lije kao iz kante.
Lije kao iz kabla.
문장 패턴
Danas je ___.
Vani pada ___.
Nije ___, ali je ___.
Sutra će biti ___ jer ___.
Real World Usage
Ej, pada li kiša kod tebe?
Pretežno sunčano s umjerenim vjetrom.
Baš je lijep dan danas, zar ne?
Sutra nas očekuje promjena vremena.
Oprostite što kasnim, strašno je nevrijeme.
Konačno sunce! ☀️
The -O Rule
No 'Ono'!
Use 'Vani'
The Wind Matters
Smart Tips
Pause and check if it's weather. If yes, delete 'It' and just use the adverb + 'je'.
Always use the verb 'padati'. Don't say 'It is rain'.
Use 'Meni je' instead of 'Ja sam'.
Remember that 'kiša' is feminine. The verb must end in -la.
발음
Falling tone on 'Pada'
The first syllable of 'Pada' has a short falling accent.
Long 'u' in 'Vruće'
The 'u' in 'vruće' is long and stressed.
Soft 'š' in 'Kiša'
Ensure the 'š' is a clear 'sh' sound, not 's'.
Question Rise
Pada li kiša? ↑
Rising intonation at the end for a yes/no question.
암기하기
기억법
Remember: 'Weather has no friends'—it stands alone without a subject (No 'Ono'!).
시각적 연상
Imagine a giant 'Ono' (It) being kicked out of a cloud. The cloud doesn't need 'Ono' to rain; it just says 'Pada kiša'.
Rhyme
Kad sunce sja, toplo je svima, kad pada kiša, kišobran se ima.
Story
A tourist in Split tried to say 'Ono je vruće' while pointing at the sky. The local laughed and said, 'No, the soup is vruće, but the day is simply vruće je!'
Word Web
챌린지
Look out your window right now and say three sentences in Croatian about the weather using 'je', 'nije', and 'pada'.
문화 노트
The 'Jugo' (south wind) is culturally blamed for bad moods, headaches, and even legal leniency in historical times.
These regions are the 'snow kings' of Croatia. People there have dozens of words for different types of snow.
Coffee culture is tied to the weather. If it's 'Sunčano je', the terraces will be full regardless of the temperature.
Derived from Proto-Slavic impersonal constructions where natural forces were seen as agentless events.
대화 시작하기
Kakvo je vrijeme danas kod tebe?
Što radiš kad pada kiša?
Kakva je bila prognoza za sutra?
Kako vrijeme utječe na tvoje raspoloženje?
일기 주제
자주 하는 실수
Test Yourself
___ je.
Pada ___.
Find and fix the mistake:
Ono je toplo.
bit će / sutra / hladno
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
___ kiša.
A: Kakvo je vrijeme? B: Grozno je, ___.
Meni je hladno.
Score: /8
연습 문제
8 exercises___ je.
Pada ___.
Find and fix the mistake:
Ono je toplo.
bit će / sutra / hladno
Ljeto, Zima, Jesen
___ kiša.
A: Kakvo je vrijeme? B: Grozno je, ___.
Meni je hladno.
Score: /8
자주 묻는 질문 (8)
Yes, but it's more common to just say `Sunčano je`. Adding `vrijeme` makes it sound a bit more like a formal report.
In `Padala je kiša`, 'kiša' is the subject, so the verb agrees with its feminine gender. In `Bilo je hladno`, there is no subject, so we use the default neuter form `bilo`.
Use the verb `početi`: `Počinje padati kiša`.
`Toplo` is warm/pleasant, while `vruće` is hot/unpleasant.
There is a verb `sniježiti`, but `pada snijeg` is much more common in daily speech.
The most common way is `Kakvo je vrijeme?`.
It refers to the weather state when the 'Jugo' wind blows, often associated with low pressure and bad moods.
If you say `On je hladan`, it means he is emotionally cold. If you mean he feels cold, say `Njemu je hladno`.
Scaffolded Practice
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2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
It is [weather].
Croatian has no 'it' equivalent in weather sentences.
Hace [weather].
Spanish uses 'to make' (hacer), Croatian uses 'to be' (biti).
Es ist [weather] / Es regnet.
German requires the subject 'es'.
Il fait [weather].
French uses a masculine dummy subject 'il'.
Ame ga futte iru.
Japanese uses particles (ga) to mark the rain as the subject.
Al-jawwu [weather].
Arabic prefers using the noun 'al-jawwu' (the weather/atmosphere).
Xià yǔ.
Chinese has no verb conjugation for the 'falling' part.
