Winter in Japanese: fuyu, explained with its related expressions

How to say “winter” in Japanese

Japanese people usually say “fuyu”. It is the Japanese word for ‘winter’. In this blog post, I will explain it with an example sentence. And also, I will explain its related expressions. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “fuyu”
• Example: how to say “winter” in Japanese
• Early winter in Japanese: shotou
• Midwinter in Japanese: mafuyu
• Late winter in Japanese: bantou
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “fuyu”

First of all, let me start with the definition and meaning of “fuyu”.

• fuyu – 冬 (ふゆ) : a noun meaning ‘winter’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, it is a noun. But it is often used like an adverb and inserted almost anywhere in a sentence to say “winter”. This is a kind of trait of Japanese time-related nouns. In fact, the noun, “ashita“, is quite often used like an adverb to say “tomorrow” in Japanese. Perhaps, it would be weird to Japanese learners. Interestingly, however, this trait can also be found in other languages. For example, the English word, “tomorrow”, can also be used as both a noun and an adverb.

The meaning of “fuyu” is very simple and clear, I think. Then, let me explain how to use this word through the example sentence below.

Example: how to say “winter” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kotoshi – 今年 (ことし) : a noun meaning ‘this year’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle used to limit the meaning of its following word with the meaning of its preceding word based on relations like possessing and belonging. In this example, it is used to limit the meaning of its following word, “fuyu”, with the meaning of its preceding word, “kotoshi”. The formed phrase, “kotoshi no fuyu”, can literally be translated into English as “the winter of this year”. It has been translated as “this winter”, though.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, it works as a topic marker after the noun phrase, “kotoshi no fuyu”, to put a focus on ‘this winter’.
• kyoto – 京都 (きょうと) : one of the most famous Japanese cities. It is a noun.
• ni – に : a case particle put after a noun to indicate a particular place to which someone or something goes. In the example, it is put after the noun, “Kyoto”, to indicate the particular place to which “watashi” will go.
• iki – 行き (いき) : one conjugation of the verb, “iku”, which means ‘to go’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• masu – ます : an auxiliary verb put after a verb to make it polite. Probably it is well known as a part of Japanese masu form. In the example, it is put after the conjugated verb, “iki”, to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “fuyu”. In this example, it is used as a part of the widely-used expression, “kotoshi no fuyu”, which means ‘this winter’ in Japanese. When we want to say “winter” in Japanese, “fuyu” would be the best choice in most cases.

In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain some expressions related to “fuyu”.

Early winter in Japanese: shotou

Below are the definition and meaning of “shotou”.

• shotou – 初冬 (しょとう) : a noun meaning ‘early winter’ in Japanese.

To understand this word more clearly, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

• 初 : a kanji character often used like a prefix to add the meaning of “first”, “beginning”, or “early” to its following word.
• 冬 : a kanji character meaning ‘winter’ in Japanese.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “shotou” literally means ‘early winter’. The second kanji is pronounced “tou” in this word, instead of “fuyu”. Its pronunciation can vary depending on the kanji used together with it.

Midwinter in Japanese: mafuyu

Below are the definition and meaning of “mafuyu”.

• mafuyu – 真冬 (まふゆ) : a noun meaning ‘midwinter’ in Japanese.

To understand this word more clearly, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

• 真 : a kanji character often used like a prefix to add the meaning of ‘truly’, ‘middle’, ‘peak’, or such to its following word. This kanji character can also be found in other words like “mayonaka“.
• 冬 : the same as explained above.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “mafuyu” literally means ‘the middle of the winter’, so ‘midwinter’. Japanese people often say “mafuyu” to mean ‘midwinter’ or even ‘severe winter’.

Late winter in Japanese: bantou

Below are the definition and meaning of “bantou”.

• bantou – 晩冬 (ばんとう) : a noun meaning ‘late winter’ in Japanese.

To understand this word more clearly, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

• 晩 : a kanji character often used like a prefix to add the meaning of ‘late’ to its following word.
• 冬 : the same as explained above.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “bantou” literally means ‘late winter’ in Japanese. Japanese people often use this word to express the season close to the spring, but still in the winter.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the word, “fuyu”, with the example sentence. And also, I’ve explained its related expressions. Let me summarize them as follows.

• fuyu – 冬 (ふゆ) : a noun meaning ‘winter’ in Japanese. It can also be used like an adverb and inserted almost anywhere in a sentence to say “winter”.
• kotoshi no fuyu – 今年の冬 (ことしのふゆ) : a widely-used Japanese expression meaning ‘this winter’. It literally means ‘the winter of this year’.
• shotou – 初冬 (しょとう) : a noun meaning ‘early winter’ in Japanese.
• mafuyu – 真冬 (まふゆ) : a noun meaning ‘midwinter’ in Japanese.
• bantou – 晩冬 (ばんとう) : a noun meaning ‘late winter’ in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.