As if 2020 wasn’t already bad enough, Japan had to put up with torrential rain, deadly floods, and what feels like a never-ending rainy season. The only ray of light amid the clouds, Japan could have its first typhoon-free July since records started in 1951.
The rainy season is called (also ばいう) in Japanese, which translates to “plum rain.” It begins from late May to mid-June and lasts through July. The season coincides with the ripening of Japan’s plums picked to make plum liquor () and pickled plums (し).
During this period, Japan experiences weeks of rain and unpredictable weather. Temperatures aren’t that hot, but the humidity reaches unbearable highs, molding your clothes and making physical activity very sweaty.
When does the rainy season end?!
Japan enters the beginning of the rainy season (り) when the Japanese Meteorological Agency says it does. This is usually after observing a string of rainy days and unsettled weather. The season ends (け) when, well, the rain stops and the weather gets hot and sunny.
けそうで明けない梅雨の明けち
=
“Waiting for the rainy season to end.”
But this year around, tsuyu seems to have no end. Tokyo saw a record 18th straight day of rain and no sunlight, a first since 1988. But Tokyo folks got it easy compared to the hardships people living in southwestern and central Japan went through. The extreme heavy rainfalls triggered severe floods, overflowing rivers, and mudslides.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that everyone in Japan is, for once, longing for hot summer days to start.
もうヤダｧｱｱｱｱｱｱｱｱ！！！
きてないしわるじゃん！！！
=
“I can’t put up with the rain anymore!!!!!
It’s not summer, but isn’t July ending!?!!!”
には梅雨明けの！
だけどは！
く梅雨明けてくれ〜笑
=
“The end of the rainy season has been forecast for this weekend,
But today it’s raining a lot!
Please, make the rainy season end soon! lol”
ミケちゃん「ちょっとはやすらぎさんがるはおはるかったけど今はいわ。なんだかは梅雨が明けるには夏をりしてになってそう……。」
=
“Mike-chan, ‘A while ago, around the time [my neighbor] came, it was bright outside, but now it’s dark. Somehow this year, when the rainy season will end, summer will have past by, and we’ll be in autumn…'”
Talking about rain in Japanese
The Japanese language lists over 400 words to talk extensively about rain. Lucky for you, the majority of them are mostly cultural expressions that you will not find outside of books and poems. So we’ve selected keywords that Japanese folks use daily to talk about rainy days all year long. Let’s first have a quick overview of seasonal rains, because as one should know, Japan has four seasons.
- : autumnal rain
- : chilly rain, from the end of autumn till early winter
- : winter rain
- : gentle spring rain
- : early summer rain
If you check the Japan Meteorological Agency website, you’ll learn how precise Japanese people can be when it comes to the wet weather.
10以上～20未満(above 10 mm up to 20) やや強い雨Moderate heavy rain ザーザーと降るFalling down hard 20以上～30未満(above 20 mm up to 30) 強い雨Heavy rain どしゃ降りDownpour 30以上～50未満(above 30 mm up to 50) 激しい雨Torrential rain バケツをひっくり返したように降るRain is pouring like from a bucket 50以上～80未満(above 50 mm up to 80) 非常に激しい雨Extreme torrential rain 滝のように降る（ゴーゴーと降り続く）Rain is falling like a waterfall (it keeps pouring down) 80以上～(above 80 mm) 猛烈な雨Ferocious rain storm 息苦しくなるような圧迫感がある。恐怖を感じるThe pressure makes you feel breathless. You feel afraid.
While the vocabulary above is used by weather forecast programs, most folks will use the following words:
- : light rain or drizzle and its antonym, : heavy rain
- り: light rain and its antonym, どしゃり: heavy rain
- : rain shower
While we all wait for the sunny days, this umbrella seems to be an excellent idea, and we’d love to give it a try!
このはめてたwwwwしいwwww
=
“First time seeing such an umbrella lol Neeeeed lol”
Vocabulary
待ち machi waiting 終わる owaru end 予報 yohou forecast 明るい akarui clear 暗い kurai dark verb+ 頃に koro ni by the time/around the time when + verb 通り越す toorikosu pass 欲しい hoshii want/need
