What does “tatsumaki” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “tatsumaki” to mean ‘tornado’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, video games, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “tatsumaki” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “tatsumaki”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “tatsumaki”.
- tatsumaki – 竜巻 (たつまき) : a noun meaning ‘tornado’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
The definition and meaning are simple and clear. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
Tatsumaki in kanji
The kanji expression of “tatsumaki” consists of the following two kanji characters:
- 竜 : a kanji character used to mean ‘dragon’ in Japanese.
- 巻 : a kanji character used to mean ‘roll’, ‘scroll’, or such in Japanese. This can also be found in other words like “uzumaki“.
These two kanji characters tell us that “tatsumaki” literally means a ‘dragon roll’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not in line with the actual meaning, but still understandable, I think. Seemingly, people in the past thought that tornadoes were made by moves of dragons. By the way, this kanji expression is not related at all to a type of sushi roll.
When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “tatsumaki” through the detailed kanji check above.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “tatsumaki” together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “tornado” in Japanese
kanojo tachi wa kinou tatsumaki wo mi ta – 彼女達は昨日竜巻を見た (かのじょたちはきのうたつまきをみた)
They saw the tornado yesterday.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, this is used after “kanojo” to make its plural form, “kanojo tachi”, which means ‘they’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kanojo tachi” to make the subject in the sentence.
- kinou – 昨日 (きのう) : a noun meaning ‘yesterday’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb almost anywhere in a sentence. In the example, this works as an adverb in the middle of the sentence to mean ‘yesterday’ in Japanese.
- wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “tatsumaki” to make the object in the sentence.
- mi – 見 (み) : one conjugation of the verb, “miru“, which means ‘to see’, ‘to watch’, ‘to look’, or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. In the example, this is used after “mi” to make its past tense form, “mi ta”.
This is a typical usage of “tatsumaki”. In this example, it works together with the case particle, “wo”, to become the object in the sentence.
Example #2: another usage of “tatsumaki”
「tatsumaki wa kowai」 to imouto ga it ta – 「竜巻は怖い」と妹が言った (「たつまきはこわい」といもうとがいった)
“Tornadoes are scary,” my little sister said.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kowai – 怖い (こわい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘scary’ in Japanese.
- to – と : a case particle working as a quote marker. In the example, this works after the clause to indicate what the little sister said.
- imouto – 妹 (いもうと) : a noun meaning ‘little sister’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “imouto” to make the subject in the sentence.
- it – 言っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iu“, which means ‘to say’ or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. In the example, this is used after “it” to make its past tense form, “it ta”.
This is another typical usage of “tatsumaki”. In this example, it works together with the binding particle, “wa”, to become the subject in the clause. When we want to refer to tornadoes in Japanese, anyway, this noun is always a good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “tatsumaki” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- tatsumaki – 竜巻 (たつまき) : a noun meaning ‘tornado’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. These two kanji characters literally mean a ‘dragon roll’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not in line with the actual meaning, but still understandable, I think. Seemingly, people in the past thought that tornadoes were made by moves of dragons. By the way, this kanji expression is not related at all to a type of sushi roll.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
