天気
tenki[tẽ̞ŋʲkʲi]
The Japanese word for "weather" is 天気 (tenki).
天気 is the most common and straightforward way to say "weather" in Japanese, referring to the state of the atmosphere at a specific place and time as experienced by people.
How do you pronounce it?
tenki
Did you know?
- If you want to say the weather is 'bad', you might say 天気が悪い, but to describe a sudden, heavy downpour, Japanese often uses the term 土砂降り (doshaburi). This refers to 'sand and gravel' falling, implying a physical weight to the rain.
- In Japanese, the kanji for 天 means 'heaven' or 'sky', and 気 means 'spirit' or 'energy'. Therefore, the word literally describes the 'spirit of the sky'.
- While English speakers might say 'the weather is great', Japanese speakers often use いい天気 (ii tenki) as a social lubricant to start a conversation with strangers.
Examples in context
- 明日の天気はどうですか？What will the weather be like tomorrow?
- 今日の天候に関する報告書をお送りします。I will send you a report on today's weather conditions.
- 今日のお天気はどうかな？I wonder how the weather is today?
- テレビで天気予報を見ました。I watched the weather forecast on TV.
- 今日の天気はどうですか？How is the weather today?
- 今日の天気はとても良いですね。kyou no tenki wa totemo ii desu ne.The weather is very nice today.
- 天気が悪いので、家にいます。tenki ga warui node, ie ni imasu.The weather is bad, so I am staying home.
Example conversation
Ren and Yui are talking about their weekend plans.
- 蓮 Ren週末の天気はどうかな。Shūmatsu no tenki wa dō kana.I wonder how the weather will be this weekend.
- 結衣 Yuiきっと晴れると思うよ。Kitto hareru to omou yo.I think it will surely be sunny.
- 蓮 Renいい天気だといいなあ。Ii tenki dato ii nā.I hope it's good weather.
- 結衣 Yuiうん、楽しみだね。Un, tanoshimi da ne.Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 天気, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
