French Phrase
Nuageux, avec quelques averses.
Meaning
The sentence is a concise weather forecast meaning ‘Cloudy, with some showers.’ It conveys that the sky will be overcast and that intermittent rain is expected, but not a continuous downpour.
When to use
Use this phrase when you’re giving a quick weather update, replying to a question about the forecast, or describing the day’s conditions in a casual conversation or a formal weather report.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Nuageux,avecquelquesaverses.
Nuageux (adjective)
Describes the sky as cloudy; agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies (here implicit 'temps').
avec (preposition)
Means 'with' and introduces a complement that adds information to the main description.
quelques (indefinite adjective)
Means 'some' or 'a few' and is placed before a plural noun; it does not change form.
averses (noun, plural)
Refers to brief, often sudden rain showers; always used in the plural when talking about occasional rain.
🗨In Conversation
Nuageux, avec quelques averses.
Cloudy, with some showers.
D’accord, je vais prendre mon parapluie.
Okay, I’ll take my umbrella.
✕Common Mistakes
Nuageux, avec des averses.
‘Des averses’ sounds like a regular rain, not the occasional nature implied by ‘quelques.’
Nuageuse, avec quelques averses.
‘Nuageuse’ is the feminine form; the adjective must stay masculine because it modifies the implicit masculine noun ‘temps.’
Nuageux, avec quelques pluie.
‘Pluie’ is singular and cannot be quantified with ‘quelques.’ Use ‘averses’ for ‘some showers.’
↔Alternatives
Couvert, avec quelques averses.
Overcast, with a few showers.
Il fait nuageux et il y aura des averses.
It’s cloudy and there will be showers.
Temps nuageux, quelques averses prévues.
Cloudy weather, a few showers expected.
Cultural Tip
In French weather talk, ‘nuageux’ is a bit more formal than ‘couvert.’ Meteorologists on TV often say ‘temps nuageux’ or simply ‘nuageux.’ When you want to sound casual, you can say ‘Il fait gris’ (It’s gray). Also, French speakers tend to add the word ‘prévu(e)’ (expected) when talking about future showers: ‘quelques averses prévues.’