Japanese Weather Vocabulary: Essential Words and Phrases

Learning Japanese vocabulary for weather is essential for daily conversations in Japan. Whether you're checking the forecast, making small talk, or planning activities, these Japanese words for weather will help you communicate naturally and understand what native speakers are saying.

Essential Weather Vocabulary

When you learn Japanese weather terms, start with these core words that you'll encounter daily. Japanese weather vocabulary includes both native Japanese words and some borrowed terms.

Word	Pronunciation	English	Example
天気	tenki	weather	今日の天気はどうですか？(Kyō no tenki wa dō desu ka?) - How's the weather today?
晴れ	hare	sunny/clear	明日は晴れです。(Ashita wa hare desu.) - Tomorrow will be sunny.
曇り	kumori	cloudy	午後から曇りになります。(Gogo kara kumori ni narimasu.) - It will become cloudy from the afternoon.
雨	ame	rain	雨が降っています。(Ame ga futte imasu.) - It's raining.
雪	yuki	snow	雪が積もりました。(Yuki ga tsumorimashita.) - The snow has piled up.
風	kaze	wind	今日は風が強いです。(Kyō wa kaze ga tsuyoi desu.) - The wind is strong today.
台風	taifū	typhoon	台風が近づいています。(Taifū ga chikazuite imasu.) - A typhoon is approaching.
雷	kaminari	thunder/lightning	雷が鳴っています。(Kaminari ga natte imasu.) - Thunder is rumbling.
霧	kiri	fog	朝は霧が出ていました。(Asa wa kiri ga dete imashita.) - There was fog in the morning.
虹	niji	rainbow	雨の後、虹が見えました。(Ame no ato, niji ga miemashita.) - After the rain, I saw a rainbow.

Temperature and Conditions

These words describe how the weather feels and are frequently used in everyday Japanese conversation.

Word	Pronunciation	English	Example
暑い	atsui	hot (weather)	今日はとても暑いですね。(Kyō wa totemo atsui desu ne.) - It's very hot today, isn't it?
寒い	samui	cold (weather)	冬は寒いです。(Fuyu wa samui desu.) - Winter is cold.
涼しい	suzushii	cool/refreshing	秋は涼しくて気持ちいいです。(Aki wa suzushikute kimochi ii desu.) - Autumn is cool and pleasant.
暖かい	atatakai	warm	春は暖かくなります。(Haru wa atatakaku narimasu.) - It becomes warm in spring.
蒸し暑い	mushiatsui	humid and hot	日本の夏は蒸し暑いです。(Nihon no natsu wa mushiatsui desu.) - Japanese summers are humid.
湿度	shitsudo	humidity	湿度が高いです。(Shitsudo ga takai desu.) - The humidity is high.
気温	kion	temperature	気温は三十度です。(Kion wa sanjū do desu.) - The temperature is 30 degrees.
梅雨	tsuyu	rainy season	六月は梅雨の季節です。(Rokugatsu wa tsuyu no kisetsu desu.) - June is the rainy season.

Common Phrases

Japanese speakers frequently discuss weather as a conversation starter. These phrases will help you join in naturally.

• いい天気ですね。 (Ii tenki desu ne.) - Nice weather, isn't it?
• 天気予報によると... (Tenki yohō ni yoru to...) - According to the weather forecast...
• 傘を持っていったほうがいいですよ。 (Kasa wo motte itta hō ga ii desu yo.) - You should take an umbrella.
• 雨が降りそうです。 (Ame ga furisō desu.) - It looks like it's going to rain.
• やっと晴れましたね。 (Yatto haremashita ne.) - It finally cleared up!
• 急に寒くなりましたね。 (Kyū ni samuku narimashita ne.) - It suddenly got cold, didn't it?

Usage Notes

Understanding these cultural and grammatical points will help you use Japanese weather vocabulary more naturally.

• Weather as greeting: In Japan, commenting on the weather is a common way to start conversations, similar to "How are you?" in English. Phrases like "Ii tenki desu ne" are polite conversation starters.
• The verb 降る (furu): This verb means "to fall" and is used specifically with rain (ame ga furu) and snow (yuki ga furu). It's one of the most essential verbs when learning Japanese weather expressions.
• Hot vs. warm: Be careful not to confuse atsui (暑い - hot weather) with atatakai (暖かい - warm). Also note that atsui written as 熱い refers to hot objects, not weather.
• Seasonal awareness: Japan has four distinct seasons, and weather vocabulary often connects to seasonal events. The rainy season (tsuyu) in June and typhoon season in late summer are important cultural references.
• Using ね (ne): Adding ne to weather statements makes them conversational and invites agreement, which is very natural in Japanese.

Practice Sentences

Use these example sentences to practice your Japanese weather vocabulary in context.

• 週末の天気はどうですか？
  Shūmatsu no tenki wa dō desu ka?
  What's the weather like this weekend?
• 午後から雨が降るかもしれません。
  Gogo kara ame ga furu kamoshiremasen.
  It might rain from this afternoon.
• 今朝はとても寒かったので、コートを着ました。
  Kesa wa totemo samukatta node, kōto wo kimashita.
  It was very cold this morning, so I wore a coat.
• 台風のせいで飛行機が欠航になりました。
  Taifū no sei de hikōki ga kekkō ni narimashita.
  The flight was cancelled because of the typhoon.
• 日本の夏は蒸し暑くて、エアコンが必要です。
  Nihon no natsu wa mushiatsukute, eakon ga hitsuyō desu.
  Japanese summers are humid, so air conditioning is necessary.
• 昨日は一日中曇りでした。
  Kinō wa ichinichijū kumori deshita.
  Yesterday was cloudy all day.
• 風が強いので、窓を閉めてください。
  Kaze ga tsuyoi node, mado wo shimete kudasai.
  The wind is strong, so please close the window.
• 梅雨が明けたら、海に行きましょう。
  Tsuyu ga aketara, umi ni ikimashō.
  When the rainy season ends, let's go to the beach.