How to Say Hot, Cold, Warm, and Cool Weather in Japanese with Degree Expressions
Learn Japanese temperature words atsui, samui, atatakai, and suzushii, plus degree adverbs like totemo and sugoku, so you can say how hot or cold it is today.
By TheaFirst conversations · Yapr Learn
Japanese has four everyday adjectives for air temperature: atsui (hot), samui (cold), atatakai (warm), and suzushii (cool). This lesson teaches those four words together with degree expressions such as totemo (very), sugoku (extremely), chotto (a little), and hidoi (severe), so you can describe exactly how hot or cold the weather feels. You will also learn the common phrase 'It's freezing today' and how to ask about temperature politely. All examples use natural Japanese script with Hepburn romanization.
By the end, you can…
- name hot, cold, warm, and cool weather in Japanese.
- add degree words like totemo and chotto to temperature adjectives.
- say 'It's freezing today' and similar strong weather statements.
- ask and answer a simple question about today's temperature.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
今日はとても暑いです。
It's very hot today.
Kyō wa totemo atsui desu.
Use atsui for hot air or weather. Totemo means 'very' and comes before the adjective.
今日はとても寒いです。
It's very cold today.
Kyō wa totemo samui desu.
Samui describes cold air or weather. Do not use it for a cold drink; use tsumetai for cold objects.
今日は暖かいです。
It's warm today.
Kyō wa atatakai desu.
Atatakai is pleasant warmth, common in spring or a mild winter day.
今日は涼しいです。
It's cool today.
Kyō wa suzushii desu.
Suzushii is comfortable coolness, typical of early autumn or a summer evening.
今日は凍えるように寒いです。
It's freezing today.
Kyō wa kogoeru yō ni samui desu.
A strong expression for bitter cold. Kogoeru means 'to freeze' or 'be numb with cold.'
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The basic pattern is [time] wa [degree] [temperature adjective] desu. For example, 今日はとても暑いです (Kyō wa totemo atsui desu) means 'It's very hot today.' Degree words go directly before the adjective: とても (totemo, very), すごく (sugoku, extremely), ちょっと (chotto, a little), and あまり (amari, not very) with a negative ending. To make a negative, change the adjective: 暑くないです (atsukunai desu, it's not hot) and 寒くないです (samukunai desu, it's not cold).
When to use it
Use atsui for hot weather and samui for cold weather. Use atatakai for mild warmth and suzushii for mild coolness. For a strong statement, add すごく (sugoku) or use 凍えるように寒い (kogoeru yō ni samui, freezing cold). To ask about temperature, say 今日は寒いですか (Kyō wa samui desu ka, Is it cold today?). Answer with はい、とても寒いです (Hai, totemo samui desu, Yes, it's very cold) or いいえ、あまり寒くないです (Iie, amari samukunai desu, No, it's not very cold).
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
今日はとても寒いですね。
It's very cold today, isn't it?Kyō wa totemo samui desu ne.はい、凍えるように寒いです。
Yes, it's freezing cold.Hai, kogoeru yō ni samui desu.そうですね。明日は暖かいですか。
That's right. Will it be warm tomorrow?Sō desu ne. Ashita wa atatakai desu ka.いいえ、明日も涼しいですよ。
No, tomorrow will be cool too.Iie, ashita mo suzushii desu yo.A little context goes a long way
Japanese weather talk often uses ね (ne) at the end to invite agreement, as in 寒いですね (samui desu ne, it's cold, isn't it). This softens the statement and makes it friendly. In formal situations, use です (desu) after the adjective. With close friends, you can drop です and say 今日は寒いね (Kyō wa samui ne). Avoid using samui for cold objects; say 冷たい (tsumetai) for a cold drink or cold hands.
One thing to watch for
Using 寒い (samui) to describe a cold drink or a cold object.
Try this instead: Use 冷たい (tsumetai) for cold objects and 寒い (samui) only for air or weather. Say この水は冷たいです (Kono mizu wa tsumetai desu, This water is cold), not この水は寒いです.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you say 'It's very hot today' in Japanese?
Show a sample answer
今日はとても暑いです。 (Kyō wa totemo atsui desu.)
This uses the pattern [time] wa [degree] [adjective] desu. とても (totemo) means 'very' and 暑い (atsui) means 'hot.' You could also say 今日はすごく暑いです (Kyō wa sugoku atsui desu) for a slightly stronger feeling.
2Which adjective means 'cool' and which means 'warm' in Japanese?
Show a sample answer
涼しい (suzushii) means 'cool,' and 暖かい (atatakai) means 'warm.'
Suzushii describes comfortable coolness, while atatakai describes pleasant warmth. Both are common in weather talk and take です (desu) in polite speech.
3How do you ask 'Is it cold today?' in Japanese?
Show a sample answer
今日は寒いですか。 (Kyō wa samui desu ka.)
Add か (ka) to the end of a polite sentence to make a question. Answer with はい、寒いです (Hai, samui desu) or いいえ、寒くないです (Iie, samukunai desu).
Remember the four temperature words: 暑い (atsui, hot), 寒い (samui, cold), 暖かい (atatakai, warm), and 涼しい (suzushii, cool). Put degree words like とても (totemo) or ちょっと (chotto) right before the adjective, and use 寒い only for air or weather, not for cold objects.
Progress is saved on this browser.
Practice real time conversations on Yapr for faster learning.
Put today’s Japanese into a conversation with an AI tutor. Speak, make mistakes, and try again.
Practice on Yapr