French Phrase
L'hiver, ça commence en décembre.
Meaning
The sentence means ‘Winter starts in December.’ It uses the informal pronoun ‘ça’ to refer to the season as a whole, and the verb ‘commencer’ to indicate the beginning of that period.
When to use
Use this phrase when describing the typical start of the cold season, planning travel, or comparing climate patterns. It’s common in casual conversation, weather reports, and school lessons about seasons.
✦Grammar Breakdown
L'hiver,çacommenceendécembre.
Article contraction
‘L’ is the elided form of the masculine article ‘le’ before a vowel or mute ‘h’, as in ‘l’hiver’.
Ça
‘Ça’ is an informal demonstrative pronoun meaning ‘it’ or ‘that’, often used to refer to a situation.
Commencer + en
When talking about the time a season or event starts, use ‘commencer en’ followed by a month.
Month preposition
Months are introduced by the preposition ‘en’ (no article) – ‘en décembre’.
Comma usage
A comma after ‘L’hiver’ separates the subject from the rest of the clause, giving a slight pause.
🗨In Conversation
L'hiver, ça commence en décembre, non?
Winter starts in December, right?
Oui, les premiers flocons arrivent souvent dès la mi-décembre.
Yes, the first snowflakes often arrive by mid‑December.
✕Common Mistakes
Le hiver, ça commence en décembre.
The article must be elided before the vowel sound; use ‘l’hiver’.
L'hiver, ça commence à décembre.
When referring to a month, the correct preposition is ‘en’, not ‘à’.
L'hiver, ça commence en le décembre.
Months never take an article in French; drop ‘le’.
↔Alternatives
L'hiver débute en décembre.
Winter begins in December.
L'hiver commence au mois de décembre.
Winter starts in the month of December.
L'hiver arrive en décembre.
Winter arrives in December.
Cultural Tip
In France the astronomical winter begins on the solstice (around 21 December), but everyday speech usually says ‘l’hiver commence en décembre’ because the weather gets noticeably colder then. In some Alpine regions, people may already feel winter in late November, while in the Mediterranean the season feels milder and may be perceived as starting later.