猛暑
mōsho
The Japanese word for heatwave is 猛暑 (mōsho).
猛暑 refers to a period of unusually hot weather. While the term can describe a heatwave generally, a more specific term used by the Japan Meteorological Agency is 猛暑日 (mōshobi), which denotes an extremely hot day where the maximum temperature reaches 35°C (95°F) or higher.
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of the characters 猛, meaning fierce or extreme and 暑, meaning heat.
How do you pronounce it?
mōsho
Did you know?
- The character 暑 (atsu/暑い) used in 猛暑 is specifically for ambient weather temperature. If you were talking about the heat of a stove or a hot cup of tea, you would have to use a completely different character: 熱.
- The concept of 猛暑 is often countered by the tradition of 打ち水 (uchimizu), where people sprinkle water on the ground in front of their homes to cool the air through evaporation.
- Japanese has a specific word 暑さで参る (atsusa de mairu) to describe the feeling of being completely defeated or exhausted by the heat.
Examples in context
- 今年の 猛暑日 （もうあつび）は記録的な数に達しています。The number of extremely hot days this year has reached a record high.
- この 熱波 （ねっぱ）はもういつ終わるのかしら。I wonder when this heatwave will finally end.
- 今年の猛暑は本当に厳しいです。Kotoshi no mōsho wa hontō ni kibishii desu.This year's heatwave is really intense.
- 猛暑が続くので、熱中症に注意してください。Mōsho ga tsuzuku node, netchūshō ni chūi shite kudasai.Please be careful of heatstroke because the heatwave continues.
- 猛暑の影響で、電気代が高くなりそうです。Mōsho no eikyō de, denkidai ga takaku narisō desu.Due to the heatwave, electricity bills are likely to be high.
Example conversation
Himari and Daigaku are talking about the weather at a train station.
- 陽葵 Himari外は猛暑だから、気をつけてね。Soto wa mousho dakara, ki o tsukete ne.It's a heatwave outside, so be careful.
- 大翔 Hirotoありがとう。水を持っていくよ。Arigatou. Mizu o motte iku yo.Thanks. I'll take some water.
- 陽葵 Himari帽子もかぶったほうがいいよ。Boushi mo kabutta hou ga ii yo.You should wear a hat too.
- 大翔 Hirotoそうだね。そうするよ。Sou da ne. Sou suru yo.You're right. I'll do that.
