Rain in Japanese: ame, explained with its related words

How to say “rain” in Japanese

Japanese native speakers would say “ame”. It is the Japanese word for ‘rain’. Interestingly and surprisingly, the Japanese language has so many – more than 30 – options to describe rain. From this fact, we can understand that Japanese people really love talking about rain. Probably, talking about the weather, especially rain, has been very important for their agricultural activities including rice farming. Unfortunately, I cannot explain all options. But, I will explain some of them which Japanese native speakers often use. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “ame”
  • Example #1: how to say “rain” in Japanese
  • Example #2: how to say “it’s rainy today” in Japanese
• Heavy rain in Japanese
• Light rain in Japanese
• Drizzle in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “ame”

Let me start with the definition and meaning of “ame”.

• ame – 雨 (あめ) : a noun meaning ‘rain’ in Japanese.

Grammatically it is a noun. In reality, however, it can also work like an adjective meaning ‘rainy’ in Japanese. In daily conversions, especially in casual situations, Japanese native speakers don’t pay much attention to its part of speech. They often use it like an adjective unconsciously.

The meaning of “ame” is very simple and clear, I think. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.

Example #1: how to say “rain” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, it is used after “ame” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• fut – 降っ (ふっ) : one conjuration of the verb, “furu”, which means ‘to fall’ or ‘to drop’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle put after a verb or adjective to make its te form. In the example, it is put after “fut” to make its te form, “fut te”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “iru”.
• iru – いる : an auxiliary verb used to express the continuity of the action described by the preceding verb. In the example, this is used after “fut te” to express the continuity of its action, ‘to fall’.

This is a typical usage of “ame”. In the example, it works as a part of the widely-used expression, “ame ga fut te iru”. This literally means ‘rain is falling’ in Japanese, but is often translated as ‘it’s raining’ or such.

Example #2: how to say “it’s rainy today” in Japanese

Next, then, let me explain how to say ‘rainy’ in Japanese.

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kyou – 今日 (きょう) : a noun meaning ‘today’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, it follows the noun, “kyou”, and the formed phrase works like an adverb phrase to mean ‘today’ in Japanese.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb put after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is put after “ame” to make it sound polite.

This is another typical usage of “ame”. This Japanese example sentence literally means ‘today is rain’. Probably it sounds a bit weird to Japanese learners, especially those who are familiar with the English language. In many cases, however, Japanese native speakers use this sentence to mean “it’s rainy today”. This is a kind of idiomatic expression.

So far, I’ve explained “ame” and how to use it through the example sentences. In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain its related words.

Heavy rain in Japanese

Below are the definition and meaning of “ōame”.

• ōame – 大雨 (おおあめ) : a noun meaning ‘heavy rain’ in Japanese.

Grammatically this is a noun, but can also work like an adjective. Its first kanji character, “大“, often works as a prefix to add the meaning of ‘large’ or ‘big’ to its following word. So, “ōame” literally means ‘large rain’ or ‘big rain’. Its kanji concept seems to be in line with the meaning, ‘heavy rain’, I think.

Light rain in Japanese

Below are the definition and meaning of “kosame”.

• kosame – 小雨 (こさめ) : a noun meaning ‘light rain’ in Japanese.

Like other words explained above, “kosame” can also work like an adjective. Its first kanji character, “小“, often works as a prefix to add the meaning of ‘small’ to its following word. So, “kosame” literally means ‘small rain’. This concept is in line with the meaning, ‘light rain’, I think.

In this word, “雨” is used as a part of the special pronunciation, “kosame”. It is not always pronounced “ame”. So, we need to learn its pronunciations with other words used together with it. Surprisingly, however, “小雨” can also be pronounced “shou’u” especially in the meteorological field. So, sticking to one correct pronunciation does not always make much sense in the Japanese language. Learn more about Japanese pronunciations.

Drizzle in Japanese

Below are the definition and meaning of “kirisame”.

• kirisame – 霧雨 (きりさめ) : a noun meaning ‘drizzle’ in Japanese.

Here is another special pronunciation. “Kirisame” is a noun, but can also work like an adjective. Its first kanji character, “霧”, means ‘mist’ or ‘fog’ in Japanese. So, “kirisame” literally means ‘mist and rain’. We can consider this concept as ‘drizzle’.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained how to say “rain” in Japanese. And also, I’ve explained some related words. Let me summarize them as follows.

• ame – 雨 (あめ) : a noun meaning ‘rain’ in Japanese.
• ame ga fut te iru – 雨が降っている (あめがふっている) : a Japanese expression for ‘rain is falling’.
• kyou wa ame desu – 今日は雨です (きょうはあめです) : a Japanese expression for ‘it’s rainy today’.
• ōame – 大雨 (おおあめ) : a noun meaning ‘heavy rain’ in Japanese.
• kosame – 小雨 (こさめ) : a noun meaning ‘light rain’ in Japanese.
• kirisame – 霧雨 (きりさめ) : a noun meaning ‘drizzle’ in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.