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.

It’s very hot.

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…

にじ

Niji

The rainbow

ひょう

Hyō

The hail

あめ 

Ame

The rain

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

あらし

Arashi

The storm

暴風

ぼうふう

Bōfū

The hurricane

気温

きおん

Kion

The temperature

きり

Kiri

The fog

洪水

こうずい

Kōzui

The flood

こおり

Kōri

The ice

ゆき

Yuki

The snow

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!

Sayōnara!

Sayaka Matsuura: Rocket Japanese

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