How do I say… in Japanese? Let’s Talk Rain!

Did you know Japan has a rainy season? Due to its somewhat tropical climate, it’s also rather common for very heavy rain, and even typhoons to hit Japan! No matter the manga demographic, as rain is such a common occurrence in Japan, we can count on it happening in at least one scene.

What’s the Japanese word for rain?

The Japanese word for rain is ame. There are several words that are all read as ame, so be careful when doing your listening practice!

The kanji, it’s meaning, and it’s reading in hiragana

We can spell “ame” using kanji like this: 雨

We can read “ame” using hiragana like this: あめ. I know these two characters can look similar if you’re not familiar with them yet, so be careful!

Let’s try using あめ・雨・ame in a sentence!

Let’s try translating this sentence into Japanese:

I love rainy days.

First in romaji

Watashi wa ame no hi ga daisuki desu.

Now with hiragana

わたし　は　あめ　の　ひ　が　だいすき　です。

Now let’s add in the kanji!

私　は　雨　の　日　が　大好き　です。

Note: We can omit the “watashi / I ” from this sentence here, however I like to keep it in for the sake of the example sentence. It’s perfectly okay to not omit it when speaking Japanese!

Let’s try translating another sentence:

I got rained on. (As in, you were out for a walk without an umbrella, and got wet)

First in romaji

Watashi wa ame ni furaremashita。

Now with hiragana

わたし　は　あめ　に　ふられました。

Now let’s add in the kanji!

私　は　雨　に　降られました。

Note: This sentence is in the passive voice, and shows annoyance at the situation.

Let’s try translating one more sentence:

Until it stops raining, I’ll wait at this cafe.

First in romaji

Ame ga yamu made, kono kafe de machimasu.

Now with hiragana

あめ　が　やむ　まで、この　カフェ　で　まちます。

Now let’s add in the kanji!

雨　が　止む　まで、この　カフェ　で　待ちます。

Note: “雨が止む・あめがやむ・ame ga yamu … is a commonly used expression that means “when the rain stops”.

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