A little culture with Miyabi
Japanese Weather Phrases: Sunny, Rainy, Hot and Cold
Talk about everyday weather in Japanese with hare, ame, atsui and samui. Learn the difference between weather nouns and temperature adjectives.
Everyday Japanese
For a first weather conversation, learn 晴れ (hare, clear weather), 雨 (ame, rain), くもり (kumori, cloudy weather) and 雪 (yuki, snow). Then add 暑いです (atsui desu, it is hot) and 寒いです (samui desu, it is cold). These cover different parts of describing the day.
Name the weather
今日は雨です (kyou wa ame desu) means “It is rainy today.” 今日 (きょう, kyou) means today, and は introduces what you are talking about. Swap 雨 for 晴れ to say 今日は晴れです, “It is clear today.”
雨が降っています (ame ga futte imasu) means “It is raining.” This describes the rain falling now. You can begin with the simpler 雨です, then learn the longer expression when you want to describe what is happening outside.
Hot weather and hot objects
暑い (atsui) describes hot weather or how hot you feel in that environment. 熱い is also read atsui, but it is used for things such as hot tea. The identical pronunciation does not mean the two written adjectives are interchangeable.
For cold weather, use 寒い (samui). For a cold drink or something cold to the touch, use 冷たい (tsumetai). Compare 今日は寒いです (kyou wa samui desu, it is cold today) with 冷たい水 (tsumetai mizu, cold water).
Use ne for a shared observation
暑いですね (atsui desu ne) is like “It is hot, isn’t it?” The ending ね invites shared agreement. A simple reply is そうですね (sou desu ne), roughly “Yes, it is” in this context.
This is a small conversational exchange, not a request for a detailed forecast. You can respond with the same observation: 寒いですね。Keeping the exchange short is natural when you are simply acknowledging the weather together.
Practice two different scenes
Scene one: you and a friend step into cold outdoor air. Say 寒いですね。Scene two: someone gives you a cold glass of water. Describe it with 冷たい, not 寒い. The object or environment determines your choice.
For another round, look out of your window and choose a weather noun. Say 今日は___です, then add a temperature sentence if it fits. You are practicing language from your own observation, so you do not need a forecast or a perfect translation.