ハリケーン
harikēn[ha̠ɾʲikẽ̞ːɴ]literally
The English phrase hurricane is translated into Japanese as ハリケーン (harikēn). Wiktionary also lists 暴風 (bōfū).
Meaning: weather phenomenon (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| ハリケーン | harikēn | [ha̠ɾʲikẽ̞ːɴ] (narrow) | literally |
| 暴風 | bōfū | [bo̞ːɸɯ̟ː] (narrow) |
Both ハリケーン and 暴風 refer to intense weather phenomena involving powerful winds.
Which one should you use?
While both terms refer to intense storms, ハリケーン is a loanword specifically used for the Atlantic/Northeast Pacific phenomenon, whereas 暴風 refers more generally to violent winds or a storm. In Japan, the term 台風 (taifū) is much more commonly used for tropical cyclones in the Northwest Pacific than the loanword ハリケーン.
How do you pronounce it?
harikēn
Did you know?
- Because ハリケーン is a loanword, it is sometimes used in Japanese pop culture or song titles to evoke a 'Western' or 'exotic' feeling, even when the lyrics are not about weather.
- The kanji 暴 in 暴風 is also used in the word for 'violence' 暴力, framing the hurricane as a physical assault rather than just a weather event.
- Japanese news broadcasts use a distinct set of color-coded maps to visualize the path of a 台風, a cultural visual shorthand that the word ハリケーン rarely triggers in domestic reports.
Examples in context
- ハリケーンの種類は風速によって決まります。The category of a hurricane depends on its wind speed.This sentence shows how the category of a hurricane is determined by wind speed using ハリケーン.Tatoeba #1827988 by bunbuku, translation #939738 by CM
- 我が家がハリケーンに持ちこたえるなんて奇跡だよ。It's a miracle that our house survived the hurricane.This sentence describes a house surviving a hurricane using ハリケーン.Tatoeba #9853571 by small_snow, translation #9853554 by CK
- レディ・ガガはハリケーン・サンディの被災者救済のため、赤十字に百万ドルを寄付した。Lady Gaga gave $1 million to the Red Cross to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy.This sentence mentions Lady Gaga's donation to victims of Hurricane Sandy using ハリケーン.Tatoeba #2113959 by bunbuku, translation #1989596 by Spamster
Example conversation
Yui and Yota are watching the news about a storm approaching.
- 結衣 Yui大きなハリケーンが近づいているみたいだよ。Ookina harikēn ga chikazuite iru mitai da yo.It looks like a big hurricane is approaching.
- 陽太 Yota本当だ、とても怖そうだね。Hontou da, totemo kowasou da ne.You're right, it looks very scary.
- 結衣 Yui陽太君、窓の鍵をしっかり閉めて。Yota-kun, mado no kagi o shikkari shimete.Yota, make sure to lock the windows tightly.
- 陽太 Yotaわかった、準備しておくよ。Wakatta, junbi shite oku yo.Got it, I will get ready.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hurricane” translations and entries ハリケーン, 暴風, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
