You're standing in a plaza in Madrid. The sun is scorching. You want to tell your friend how nice the weather is, so you reach into your mental dictionary. "Es soleado," you say, feeling confident. Your friend nods, but there's a tiny smirk. You’ve just committed the classic "gringo" error.
Language isn't a math equation. You can't just swap words out 1:1 and expect it to make sense to a native speaker. In English, we use "it is" for everything regarding weather. It’s raining. It’s cold. It’s sunny. In Spanish? Things get weird. They don't think of the weather as a state of being in the same way we do. They think of it as something the environment "makes" or "has."
If you want to say it's sunny in Spanish, you usually have to use the verb hacer (to do/make).
The "Hace Sol" vs. "Está Soleado" Debate
Most textbooks will give you hace sol as the primary way to describe a sunny day. It literally translates to "it makes sun." Sounds bizarre if you translate it literally, but that's the logic of the language. Nature is "making" the sun happen.
- Hace sol. (It’s sunny / The sun is out.)
- Hace mucho sol. (It’s very sunny.)
Then there's está soleado. This is the one that looks like English. Está (it is) + soleado (sunny). Is it wrong? Not exactly. But it's formal. It sounds like a weather reporter on Univision or a news anchor in Mexico City. If you're just grabbing a beer at a sidewalk cafe, saying está soleado feels a bit stiff. It’s like saying "The atmospheric conditions are currently luminous" instead of "Wow, it's bright out."
Context changes everything. You’ll hear está soleado more often in the Caribbean or parts of South America than in central Spain. Language evolves based on geography. In Puerto Rico, you might hear a mix of both, but hace sol remains the heavyweight champion of daily conversation.
Grammar Crimes and How to Avoid Them
The biggest mistake people make when trying to say it's sunny in Spanish is trying to use the verb ser. Because ser means "to be," and "it is" uses "to be," beginners jump right to es.
Never say "Es sol" or "Es soleado."
It just doesn't work. Ser is for permanent characteristics. A person is tall (es alto). A car is red (es rojo). The weather is fleeting. It’s temperamental. Even when using the "to be" structure, Spanish prefers estar because the sun will eventually go down or a cloud will move in.
Think of it this way:
- Hacer + Noun: Hace sol (It makes sun).
- Estar + Adjective: Está soleado (It is sunny).
If you stick to those two, you're golden. But wait, there’s a third option that most people forget: Hay sol. This literally means "There is sun." It’s incredibly common in Spain. If you look out the window and see the light hitting the pavement, you say Hay sol. It’s simple. It’s direct. It’s what people actually say when they aren't trying to pass a Spanish 101 quiz.
Why the Atmosphere Matters
Talking about the sun isn't just about the star in the sky. It's about how it feels. Spanish speakers have a dozen ways to describe a bright day that go beyond the basic vocabulary.
Take the word solazo. If you add the suffix -azo to sol, you’re magnifying it. ¡Qué solazo! means "What a massive/intense sun!" You say this when you’re sweating through your shirt and looking for the nearest shade. It’s expressive. It’s human.
Then you have despejado. This means "clear." Often, if you ask someone how the weather is, they won't even use the word for sun. They’ll just say está despejado. If the sky is clear, the sun is implied. It’s a more sophisticated way to speak. You sound like someone who has lived there for years rather than someone who just finished a Duolingo streak.
Regional Quirks You Should Know
Spanish is a global language spoken by nearly 500 million people. Naturally, they don't all say the same thing.
In some parts of the Andean highlands, where the sun is incredibly "thin" and sharp due to the altitude, people might focus more on the heat than the light. They might say quema el sol (the sun is burning). It’s a functional description. In the coastal regions of Spain, you’ll hear hace un día espléndido (it's a splendid day). It’s poetic, sure, but it’s a very common way to acknowledge the sun without being literal.
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I remember being in Bogotá—a city known for having "four seasons in one day." You’d see people carrying umbrellas while the sun was out. They wouldn't say hace sol with a smile; they’d say it with a warning. Cuidado, que el sol de mañana hace daño (Careful, the morning sun is harmful). The cultural perception of the weather dictates the vocabulary.
Real-World Phrases for Your Next Trip
If you want to blend in, stop memorizing "it is sunny" as a single phrase. Use these variations instead:
- Hace un sol de justicia. This is a very "Spain" expression. It means the sun is incredibly hot, almost punishing. Like the "justice" of the heat is coming for you.
- Está radiante. Use this for those perfect spring days where everything looks like a postcard.
- El día está precioso. Simple. "The day is beautiful." It implies the sun is out without being a weather bot.
Honestly, the best way to learn is to listen to the locals. If you're in a taxi in Medellín, ask the driver: ¿Cómo ve el clima hoy? (How do you see the weather today?). He might say está picante (it's spicy/hot). He might say está sabroso (it's tasty/pleasant). That’s the real Spanish. That’s the stuff you won’t find in a textbook.
The Science of the "Hacer" Logic
Why does Spanish use "to make" for weather? It’s a linguistic relic. Many Romance languages do this. In French, it's il fait beau. In Italian, fa caldo.
English is actually the weird one here. We use the "dummy it." When we say "It is sunny," what is the "it"? Is it the sky? The world? The universe? It doesn't actually refer to anything. Spanish avoids the dummy "it" by using the verb hacer to describe the action of the environment. The weather is an active participant in life. It isn't just a state; it’s a performance.
Practical Steps to Master Spanish Weather Talk
Stop translating in your head. That's the first hurdle. If you're thinking of the English word "it's," you've already lost the battle. Start associating the image of the sun with the sound hace sol.
- Watch the local forecast. Go on YouTube and search for "pronóstico del tiempo" from a country you plan to visit. Listen for the transitions. Notice how they switch between estará soleado (future tense, formal) and hará calor.
- Use "Qué" for emphasis. Instead of just stating facts, react to them. ¡Qué sol! (What sun!) or ¡Qué día tan bueno! (What a good day!). This makes you sound way more natural.
- Check the nuances of "Estar." If you absolutely must use estar, remember it’s for the state of the sky. El cielo está despejado (The sky is clear).
- Learn the heat/cold pairing. Usually, if someone says it's sunny in Spanish, the next thing they talk about is the temperature. Hace sol, pero hace viento (It’s sunny, but it’s windy). That "pero" is the most common word in weather talk because it’s rarely just one thing.
Practice saying hace sol while you're walking outside today, even if you aren't in a Spanish-speaking country. Build the muscle memory. Soon, you won't be translating; you'll just be speaking.