What does “kaminari” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “kaminari” to mean ‘thunder’, ‘lightning’, or both in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, video games, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji character and pronunciation. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “kaminari” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “kaminari”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “kaminari”.
- kaminari – 雷 (かみなり) : a noun meaning ‘thunder’, ‘lightning’, or ‘thunder and lightning’ in Japanese.
Japanese native speakers use this noun to refer to the noise of lightning or lightning itself or both. So, this can cover both English nouns, “thunder” and “lightning”.
The definition and meanings of “kaminari” are not that difficult, I think. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji character and pronunciation in detail.
Kaminari in kanji
The kanji character of “kaminari” consists of the following two parts:
- 雨 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘rain’ in Japanese.
- 田 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘rice field’ in Japanese.
These two parts tell us that “kaminari” literally means ‘rain and a rice field’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not in line with the actual meanings. The kanji character, however, describes well the path of lightning. It starts from rain clouds and reaches the ground. Rain clouds are expressed by the upper part of the kanji character; the ground is expresses by the lower part. Apparently, people in the past were very good at describing natural phenomena by using existing kanji characters.
Why is it called kaminari?
Before the kanji character was applied, however, the pronunciation already existed. It consists of the following two parts:
- kami – 神 (かみ) : a noun meaning ‘god’ in Japanese.
- nari – 鳴り (なり) : the noun form of the verb, “naru”, which means ‘to sound’, ‘to ring’, ‘to rumble’, ‘to roar’, or such.
From these two parts, we can understand that people in the past considered thunder as the sound from the gods. This original concept of the pronunciation is very interesting, I think. At least, it is still a good metaphor for thunder.
Then, let me explain how to use “kaminari” through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “lightning flash” in Japanese
watashi tachi wa kaminari wo mi ta – 私達は雷を見た (わたしたちはかみなりをみた)
We saw a lightning flash.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ 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 “watashi” to make its plural form, “watashi tachi”, which means ‘we’ in Japanese. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi tachi” to make the subject in the sentence.
- wo – を : a case particle making the object word in a sentence. In the example, this works after “kaminari” 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 “kaminari”. In this example, it works as the object in the sentence and means a ‘lightning flash’ in Japanese.
Example #2: another usage of “kaminari”
kaminari no oto mo kiki mashi ta – 雷の音も聞きました (かみなりのおともききました)
And we heard the thunder.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- no – の : a case particle joining two nouns. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this works to join “kaminari” and “oto”. The formed phrase literally means ‘the sound of thunder’ in Japanese. It has been translated as just “the thunder”, though.
- oto – 音 (おと) : a noun meaning ‘sound’ in Japanese.
- mo – も : a binding particle making the subject word or the object word in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘also’, ‘as well’, ‘too’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this works after “kaminari no oto” to make the object in the sentence with adding the meaning of ‘and’.
- kiki – 聞き (きき) : one conjugation of the verb, “kiku”, which means ‘to hear’ or ‘to listen’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- mashi – まし : one conjugation of the auxiliary verb, “masu”, which is used after a verb to make it polite. In the example, this is used after “kiki” to make it sound polite.
This is another typical usage of “kaminari”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “kaminari no oto”, which literally means ‘the sound of thunder’ in Japanese. When we want to say “thunder” or “lightning” in Japanese, anyway, this noun is always a very good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “kaminari” in detail based on its kanji character and pronunciation. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- kaminari – 雷 (かみなり) : a noun meaning ‘thunder’, ‘lightning’, or ‘thunder and lightning’ in Japanese. Two kanji parts literally mean ‘rain’ and a ‘rice field’ in Japanese. So, this kanji character describes well the path of lightning. It starts from rain clouds and reaches the ground. This pronunciation originally came from “kami” and “nari” which mean ‘gods’ and ‘sound’ respectively. People in the past considered thunder as the sound from the gods.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
