Weather in Japanese
How do you talk about the weather in Japanese? Whether you’re enjoying the sunshine, snow, or something in between, this free audio lesson will teach you tons of Japanese words you can use in conversation. Whether you’re traveling in Japan or heading somewhere closer to home with Japanese speakers, the Rocket Japanese team will teach you how to talk about the climate and the current weather conditions in Japanese.
We hope you don’t encounter any extreme weather, but to be on the safe side we’ll teach you some words for that too. It’s good to be prepared and know what to expect, so let’s get started!
Resources for further reading:
Pronouncing the weather in Japanese
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今日の天気予報は何ですか
きょう の てんき よほう は なん です か
Kyō no tenki yohō wa nan desu ka?
What's the weather forecast for today?
今週の天気予報は何ですか
こんしゅう の てんき よほう は なん です か
Konshū no tenki yohō wa nan desu ka?
What's the weather forecast for this week?
天気はどうですか
てんき は どう ですか
Tenki wa dō desuka?
How's the weather?
気温は何度ですか
きおん は なんど です か
Kion wa nando desu ka?
What's the temperature?
外はどうですか
そと は どう です か
Soto wa dō desu ka?
What's it like outside?
There are a lot of possible answers to that question. Here are the most common ones…
暖かいです
あたたかい です
Atatakai desu
It's warm
寒いです
さむい です
Samui desu
It's cold
風が強いです
かぜ が つよい です
Kaze ga tsuyoi desu
It's windy
嵐の様です
あらし の よう です
Arashi no yō desu
It's stormy
暑いです
あつい です
Atsui desu
It's hot
晴れです
はれ です
Hare desu
It's sunny
晴天です
せいてん です
Seiten desu
It's clear
曇りです
くもり です
Kumori desu.
It's cloudy
いい天気です
いい てんき です
Ii tenki desu.
It's nice
冷たいです
つめたい です
Tsumetai desu
It's icy
蒸し暑いです
むし あつい です
Mushi atsui desu
It's humid
You can use the word “totemo” (very) for all of the above phrases to emphasize that it’s not just cold or warm, but very cold or very warm. For example:
とても寒いです
とても さむい です
Totemo samui desu.
It's very cold.
とても暖かいです
とても あたたかい です
Totemo atatakai desu.
It's very warm.
とても暑いです
とても あつい です
Totemo atsui desu.
It's very hot.
とても冷たいです
とても つめたい です
Totemo tsumetai desu.
It's very icy.
When talking about rain you can use the following expressions …
雨が降っています
あめ が ふって います
Ame ga futte imasu.
It's raining
雨降りの日です
あめ ふり の ひ です
Ame furi no hi desu.
It's rainy.
For a farmer rain might be all he needs, whereas a soccer team might be hoping for a sunny day. Here are some more general answers.
今日は嫌な天気です
きょう は いやな てんき です
Kyō wa iyana tenki desu.
It's miserable weather.
今日はいい天気です
きょう は いい てんき です
Kyō wa ii tenki desu.
It's good weather.
今日は悪い天気です
きょう は わるい てんき です
Kyō wa warui tenki desu.
It's bad weather.
今日は上天気です
きょう は じょう てんき です
Kyō wa jyō tenki desu.
It's beautiful weather.
今日は最悪の天気です
きょう は さいあく の てんき です
Kyō wa saiaku no tenki desu.
It's terrible weather.
If you are planning to travel to Japan during the winter time, you’ll definitely need to know the next two sentences. Let me assure you, there will be plenty of opportunities to use them.
雪が降っています
ゆき が ふって います
Yuki ga futte imasu.
It's snowing
風が氷の様に冷たいです
かぜ が こおり の ように つめたい です
Kaze ga kōri no yōni tsumetai desu.
The wind is icy cold
Here are some more words that describe certain weather conditions…
虹
にじ
Niji
The rainbow
雹
ひょう
Hyō
The hail
雨
あめ
Ame
The rain
雷
かみなり
Kaminari
The thunder
雷雨
らい う
Rai u
The thunderstorm
落雷
らく らい
Raku rai
The lightning
地震
じしん
Jishin
The earthquake
嵐
あらし
Arashi
The storm
暴風
ぼうふう
Bōfū
The hurricane
気温
きおん
Kion
The temperature
霧
きり
Kiri
The fog
洪水
こうずい
Kōzui
The flood
氷
こおり
Kōri
The ice
雪
ゆき
Yuki
The snow
雲
くも
Kumo
The cloud
That’s it for today’s lesson. I hope you enjoyed it.
Here are a few recommended Japanese lessons to try next!
- Wanting to book accommodation in Japanese.
- Renting a car? Know the parts of your car in Japanese.
- Saying Yes in Japanese.
Sayōnara!
Sayaka Matsuura: Rocket Japanese
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