Weather Words in Japanese for Daily Small Talk

天気の日本語 Tenki no Nihongo means “weather words in Japanese,” and yes, this is one of those topics that suddenly becomes useful every single day. Weather is the universal small-talk cheat code. Too hot, too cold, too rainy—everyone has an opinion, and Japanese speakers are absolutely not immune to complaining about the sky.

For the broader learning path, visit our parent guide.

If you can talk about weather in Japanese, you can start a conversation, follow the news, and sound a lot more natural in everyday life. This guide gives you the most useful weather words, common phrases, and real example sentences so you can talk about the weather without turning into a human weather app.

For a broad overview of Japanese language learning, see the Learn Japanese page. And for a quick reference on weather terms, a very boring but helpful dictionary-style entry for weather vocabulary can also be useful.

Table of Contents

Core Weather Words You Will Hear All The Time

Kanji	Rōmaji	English Meaning	Example Sentence
天気	tenki	weather	今日は天気がいいです。 Kyō wa tenki ga ii desu. The weather is nice today.
晴れ	hare	sunny, clear weather	明日は晴れです。 Ashita wa hare desu. It will be sunny tomorrow.
曇り	kumori	cloudy	今日は曇りです。 Kyō wa kumori desu. It is cloudy today.
雨	ame	rain	雨が降っています。 Ame ga futte imasu. It is raining.
雪	yuki	snow	今年は雪が多いです。 Kotoshi wa yuki ga ōi desu. There is a lot of snow this year.
風	kaze	wind	今日は風が強いです。 Kyō wa kaze ga tsuyoi desu. The wind is strong today.
暑い	atsui	hot	今日は暑いですね。 Kyō wa atsui desu ne. It’s hot today, isn’t it?
寒い	samui	cold	朝は寒いです。 Asa wa samui desu. Mornings are cold.
暖かい	atatakai	warm	今日は暖かいです。 Kyō wa atatakai desu. It is warm today.
涼しい	suzushii	cool, pleasantly cool	夜は涼しいです。 Yoru wa suzushii desu. It is cool at night.
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 storm	雷が鳴っています。 Kaminari ga natte imasu. It is thundering.

Notice how Japanese weather words are often simple, direct, and practical. No drama, no unnecessary extra fluff. The sky does the chaos, and the words just report the facts.

Useful Weather Phrases For Small Talk

Kanji	Rōmaji	English Meaning	Example Sentence
今日はいい天気ですね。	Kyō wa ii tenki desu ne.	Nice weather today, isn’t it?	今日はいい天気ですね。 Kyō wa ii tenki desu ne. Nice weather today, isn’t it?
天気が悪いです。	Tenki ga warui desu.	The weather is bad.	天気が悪いです。 Tenki ga warui desu. The weather is bad.
雨が降りそうです。	Ame ga furi-sō desu.	It looks like rain.	雨が降りそうです。 Ame ga furi-sō desu. It looks like rain.
今日は寒いですね。	Kyō wa samui desu ne.	It’s cold today, isn’t it?	今日は寒いですね。 Kyō wa samui desu ne. It’s cold today, isn’t it?
とても暑いです。	Totemo atsui desu.	It’s very hot.	とても暑いです。 Totemo atsui desu. It’s very hot.
少し涼しいです。	Sukoshi suzushii desu.	It’s a little cool.	少し涼しいです。 Sukoshi suzushii desu. It’s a little cool.
明日は晴れますか。	Ashita wa haremasu ka.	Will it be sunny tomorrow?	明日は晴れますか。 Ashita wa haremasu ka. Will it be sunny tomorrow?
午後から雨が降ります。	Gogo kara ame ga furimasu.	It will rain from the afternoon.	午後から雨が降ります。 Gogo kara ame ga furimasu. It will rain from the afternoon.
今日は風が強いです。	Kyō wa kaze ga tsuyoi desu.	The wind is strong today.	今日は風が強いです。 Kyō wa kaze ga tsuyoi desu. The wind is strong today.
外に出たくないです。	Soto ni detakunai desu.	I do not want to go outside.	外に出たくないです。 Soto ni detakunai desu. I do not want to go outside.
傘を持っていますか。	Kasa o motte imasu ka.	Do you have an umbrella?	傘を持っていますか。 Kasa o motte imasu ka. Do you have an umbrella?
今日は傘が必要です。	Kyō wa kasa ga hitsuyō desu.	You need an umbrella today.	今日は傘が必要です。 Kyō wa kasa ga hitsuyō desu. You need an umbrella today.

Weather Descriptions For Everyday Conversation

Kanji	Rōmaji	Meaning	Example Sentence
晴天	seiten	clear sky, fine weather	今日は晴天です。 Kyō wa seiten desu. It is clear weather today.
快晴	kaisei	perfectly clear weather	今日は快晴です。 Kyō wa kaisei desu. Today is perfectly clear.
小雨	kosame	light rain	午後は小雨です。 Gogo wa kosame desu. There is light rain in the afternoon.
大雨	ōame	heavy rain	大雨に注意してください。 Ōame ni chūi shite kudasai. Please be careful of heavy rain.
強風	kyōfū	strong wind	強風で傘がこわれました。 Kyōfū de kasa ga kowaremashita. My umbrella broke because of strong wind.
湿気	shikke	humidity, dampness	夏は湿気が多いです。 Natsu wa shikke ga ōi desu. Summer is humid.
蒸し暑い	mushi-atsui	hot and humid	今日は蒸し暑いです。 Kyō wa mushi-atsui desu. It is hot and humid today.
冷たい雨	tsumetai ame	cold rain	冷たい雨が降っています。 Tsumetai ame ga futte imasu. Cold rain is falling.
くもり空	kumorizora	cloudy sky	くもり空が広がっています。 Kumorizora ga hirogatte imasu. A cloudy sky is spreading out.
冬晴れ	fuyubare	clear winter weather	今日は冬晴れです。 Kyō wa fuyubare desu. It is clear winter weather today.

Common Weather Verbs That Make Sentences Work

Kanji	Rōmaji	Meaning	Example Sentence
降る	furu	to fall, used for rain or snow	雨が降ります。 Ame ga furimasu. It will rain.
止む	yamu	to stop, used for rain or snow	雨が止みました。 Ame ga yamimashita. The rain stopped.
吹く	fuku	to blow, used for wind	強い風が吹いています。 Tsuyoi kaze ga fuite imasu. A strong wind is blowing.
照る	teru	to shine, to be sunny	太陽が照っています。 Taiyō ga terutte imasu. The sun is shining.
曇る	kumoru	to become cloudy	午後から曇ります。 Gogo kara kumorimasu. It will become cloudy from the afternoon.
積もる	tsumoru	to pile up, used for snow	雪が積もりました。 Yuki ga tsumorimashita. The snow piled up.

Mini Weather Chat Sentences

Kanji	Rōmaji	English Meaning	Example Sentence
今日は暑いですね。	Kyō wa atsui desu ne.	It’s hot today, isn’t it?	今日は暑いですね。 Kyō wa atsui desu ne. It’s hot today, isn’t it?
雨が降りそうですね。	Ame ga furi-sō desu ne.	Looks like rain, huh?	雨が降りそうですね。 Ame ga furi-sō desu ne. Looks like rain, huh?
傘を持ってきました。	Kasa o motte kimashita.	I brought an umbrella.	傘を持ってきました。 Kasa o motte kimashita. I brought an umbrella.
天気予報を見ましたか。	Tenki yohō o mimashita ka.	Did you check the weather forecast?	天気予報を見ましたか。 Tenki yohō o mimashita ka. Did you check the weather forecast?
今日は外出しやすいです。	Kyō wa gaishutsu shiyasui desu.	It is easy to go out today.	今日は外出しやすいです。 Kyō wa gaishutsu shiyasui desu. It is easy to go out today.
寒いのでコートを着ます。	Samui node kōto o kimasu.	Because it is cold, I will wear a coat.	寒いのでコートを着ます。 Samui node kōto o kimasu. Because it is cold, I will wear a coat.
今日は洗濯日和です。	Kyō wa sentaku biyori desu.	Today is good weather for doing laundry.	今日は洗濯日和です。 Kyō wa sentaku biyori desu. Today is good weather for doing laundry.
外は少し寒いです。	Soto wa sukoshi samui desu.	It is a little cold outside.	外は少し寒いです。 Soto wa sukoshi samui desu. It is a little cold outside.
明日はもっと寒くなります。	Ashita wa motto samuku narimasu.	It will get colder tomorrow.	明日はもっと寒くなります。 Ashita wa motto samuku narimasu. It will get colder tomorrow.
暑さに気をつけてください。	Atsusa ni ki o tsukete kudasai.	Please be careful of the heat.	暑さに気をつけてください。 Atsusa ni ki o tsukete kudasai. Please be careful of the heat.

Weather Forecast Words

Kanji	Rōmaji	Meaning	Example Sentence
天気予報	tenki yohō	weather forecast	天気予報を確認します。 Tenki yohō o kakunin shimasu. I will check the weather forecast.
予報	yohō	forecast	明日の予報は雨です。 Ashita no yohō wa ame desu. Tomorrow’s forecast is rain.
気温	kion	temperature	今日の気温は高いです。 Kyō no kion wa takai desu. Today’s temperature is high.
最高気温	saikō kion	highest temperature	最高気温は30度です。 Saikō kion wa sanjū-do desu. The high temperature is 30 degrees.
最低気温	saitei kion	lowest temperature	最低気温は5度です。 Saitei kion wa go-do desu. The low temperature is 5 degrees.
降水確率	kōsui kakuritsu	chance of precipitation	降水確率は70％です。 Kōsui kakuritsu wa nana-jū pāsento desu. The chance of rain is 70%.

Quick Notes On Usage

天気 tenki is the general word for weather, while 晴れ hare, 雨 ame, and 雪 yuki are more specific conditions. In conversation, Japanese often uses simple patterns like ～です ~ desu and ～が降ります ~ ga furimasu to describe what is happening.

One easy trap: 暑い atsui means “hot” for temperature, but it is not the same as “spicy.” Spicy is 辛い karai. So if the soup burns your face off, use the right word. Your taste buds will forgive you. Your Japanese sentence should, too.

Another useful pair: 寒い samui is “cold,” and 涼しい suzushii is “cool” in a pleasant way. That difference matters more than it looks, especially when you want to say the weather is refreshing instead of miserable.

Simple Practice

Change “It is sunny” into Japanese: 晴れです。 Hare desu.
Change “It is raining” into Japanese: 雨が降っています。 Ame ga futte imasu.
Change “The weather is bad” into Japanese: 天気が悪いです。 Tenki ga warui desu.
Change “It is hot today” into Japanese: 今日は暑いです。 Kyō wa atsui desu.
Change “Please be careful of strong wind” into Japanese: 強風に気をつけてください。 Kyōfū ni ki o tsukete kudasai.
Swap “rain” for “snow”: 雨が降ります。 Ame ga furimasu. becomes 雪が降ります。 Yuki ga furimasu.

Common Mistakes And Easy Fixes

Common Mistake	Better Form	Why
天気は暑いです。	今日は暑いです。	天気 tenki is “weather,” but 暑い atsui describes the day or air temperature more naturally.
雨です。 for “It is raining”	雨が降っています。	Japanese often uses 降る furu for rain/snow falling.
寒いですね。 said for a cool, nice breeze	涼しいですね。	涼しい suzushii sounds pleasant, not just cold.
風が雨です。	風が強いです。	Wind is described with 強い tsuyoi, not as rain.

Quick Reference Summary

天気 tenki = weather
晴れ hare = sunny
曇り kumori = cloudy
雨 ame = rain
雪 yuki = snow
風 kaze = wind
暑い atsui = hot
寒い samui = cold
涼しい suzushii = pleasantly cool
天気予報 tenki yohō = weather forecast

Weather words in Japanese are perfect for daily small talk because they are short, useful, and easy to practice immediately. Start with 今日はいい天気ですね。 Kyō wa ii tenki desu ne. Then add one more detail, like rain, wind, or temperature. Tiny sentence, big social win.