Learn how to talk about the weather
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Natsuko: こんにちは。夏子です。 |
| Sachiko: Sachiko here. Weather Watch. Natsuko san, today we are going to talk about the weather. |
| Natsuko: Weather. |
| Sachiko: It is good timing, isn’t it? It’s getting warm. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: It’s you know, some days are almost like summer. |
| Natsuko: It is. |
| Sachiko: Well I feel like we had no spring this year. It went from the dead of winter to the dead of summer. |
| Natsuko: Exactly. |
| Sachiko: Like I was wearing a heavy winter jacket one day and then the tank top the next. |
| Natsuko: I agree. |
| Sachiko: Okay so let’s look at today’s conversation. We will see what they are talking about to see if it’s similar to our situation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| ありさ: 今日って少し寒くない? |
| ふく: もう5月なのに寒いよね。今年って異常気象って話だよ。 |
| ヨシオ: えーっ、寒い?さっきまで寒かったけど、今はちょっと暑くない。蒸し暑いよ。 |
| さっきまで、雨空だったのに、雨が止んで、陽が出て来て、むしむしするよー。 |
| ふく: 確かに、蒸し暑くなってきたね。もう梅雨入りかなあ。今年は桜も早かったしね。 |
| ヨシオ: あっ、また陽が陰ってきた。なんだか今日は、イギリスの天気みたいだなあ。 |
| ありさ: えっ、どういう意味? |
| ヨシオ: イギリスの天気って、一日の中に四季があるって言われてるんだよ。晴れても、曇りになったり、雨が降ったり。寒くなったり、暑くなったり。 |
| ふく: それだけ、変わりやすいってことなんだね。 |
| ヨシオ: そうなんだよ。 |
| ありさ: なるほどー。 |
| もう一度、お願いします。ゆっくり、お願いします。 |
| ありさ: 今日って少し寒くない? |
| ふく: もう5月なのに寒いよね。今年って異常気象って話だよ。 |
| ヨシオ: えーっ、寒い?さっきまで寒かったけど、今はちょっと暑くない。蒸し暑いよ。 |
| さっきまで、雨空だったのに、雨が止んで、陽が出て来て、むしむしするよー。 |
| ふく: 確かに、蒸し暑くなってきたね。もう梅雨入りかなあ。今年は桜も早かったしね。 |
| ヨシオ: あっ、また陽が陰ってきた。なんだか今日は、イギリスの天気みたいだなあ。 |
| ありさ: えっ、どういう意味? |
| ヨシオ: イギリスの天気って、一日の中に四季があるって言われてるんだよ。晴れても、曇りになったり、雨が降ったり。寒くなったり、暑くなったり。 |
| ふく: それだけ、変わりやすいってことなんだね。 |
| ヨシオ: そうなんだよ。 |
| ありさ: なるほどー。 |
| 次は、英語が入ります。 |
| ありさ: 今日って少し寒くない? |
| ARISA: Isn't it kinda chilly today? |
| ふく: もう5月なのに寒いよね。今年って異常気象って話だよ。 |
| FUKU: Yeah. It's already May but it's still cold. I hear we've got abnormal weather patterns this year. |
| ヨシオ: えーっ、寒い?さっきまで寒かったけど、今はちょっと暑くない。蒸し暑いよ。 |
| さっきまで、雨空だったのに、雨が止んで、陽が出て来て、むしむしするよー。 |
| YOSHIO: Huh, cold? It was cold until just a little bit ago, but it's kind of muggy now. It was rainy and it stopped raining and now the sun came out, and it's humid. |
| ふく: 確かに、蒸し暑くなってきたね。もう梅雨入りかなあ。今年は桜も早かったしね。 |
| FUKU: You're right. It's getting muggy. Is it already the rainy season? The cherry blossoms bloomed early this year too. |
| ヨシオ: あっ、また陽が陰ってきた。なんだか今日は、イギリスの天気みたいだなあ。 |
| YOSHIO: Look. It's getting cloudy again! This is a little bit like English weather. |
| ありさ: えっ、どういう意味? |
| ARISA: What do you mean? |
| ヨシオ: イギリスの天気って、一日の中に四季があるって言われてるんだよ。晴れても、曇りになったり、雨が降ったり。寒くなったり、暑くなったり。 |
| YOSHIO: In England, they say they have four seasons in 1 day. Even if it's clear right now, it'll get overcast, it’ll rain, it’ll get cold, and it will get hot. |
| ふく: それだけ、変わりやすいってことなんだね。 |
| FUKU: That means the weather is very changeable, right. |
| ヨシオ: そうなんだよ。 |
| YOSHIO: That's right. |
| ありさ: なるほどー。 |
| ARISA: I see. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sachiko: 夏子さん、今日の会話、どう思いましたか。 |
| Natsuko: 天気に関する色んな言葉が出てきましたよね。 |
| Sachiko: そうですよね。お天気用語を全部会話にいれたって感じですよね。 |
| Natsuko: 本当そうですね。 |
| Sachiko: It’s like we took all the weather related vocabulary and clumped them into the conversation. |
| Natsuko: 梅雨っていうのはでも、日本特有のものですよね。 |
| Sachiko: Rainy season ですね。そうですね。梅雨は大体六月？ |
| Natsuko: 六月から七月ぐらいですね。蒸し暑いんですよね。 |
| Sachiko: やな気分ですよね。 It’s very humid and muggy and hot. Yeah the worst part is going in and out of the trains. |
| Natsuko: Oh yes. |
| Sachiko: Because it’s really hot on the platform. |
| Natsuko: Yeah. |
| Sachiko: And you sweat like crazy and then you get on the train and it is freezing cold from the air-conditioning. Let’s hope that the 梅雨 season this year is very short as well. |
| Natsuko: Yes I hope so. |
| Sachiko: Well let’s take a look at today’s vocabulary. Let’s see. A lot of the vocabulary came up in the conversation. We will look at them one by one. 一つ目の単語をお願いします。 |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Natsuko: 異常気象 |
| Sachiko: Abnormal weather. This looks like it’s consisting of two words. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: What are they? |
| Natsuko: 異常 |
| Sachiko: Which means abnormal. |
| Natsuko: Yes. 気象 |
| Sachiko: is weather. Now what would be the opposite of 異常 |
| Natsuko: 通常 |
| Sachiko: Which is normal or conventional or as usual. |
| Sachiko: As usual. So if someone says that you are 異常, it’s not very good. Isn’t it? |
| Natsuko: You are abnormal. |
| Sachiko: Yeah well sometimes people say that my passion for things can be abnormal at times. |
| Natsuko: Right. |
| Sachiko: 異常 over standard. I am special. That’s the way I think about it. So this is a word that pops up in the news often. |
| Natsuko: Oh yes. |
| Sachiko: Yeah with the エルニーニョ、エルニーニャ、 what not. Yeah, so I would say one example of 異常気象 would be global warming. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: How would you say that in Japanese? |
| Natsuko: 地球温暖化 |
| Sachiko: Wow, that’s a long word. Let’s break it down a bit. |
| Natsuko: 地球 |
| Sachiko: Is earth. |
| Natsuko: Yes. 温暖 |
| Sachiko: means warm. 化 is when something transforms into its state. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: So 温暖化 means transforming into a state of warmth. So it means the earth is getting warm. |
| Natsuko: Yes exactly. Global warming 地球温暖化. It’s a good keyword to remember. |
| Sachiko: Yes. Next word please. |
| Natsuko: 蒸し暑い |
| Sachiko: Humid, sultry. That is exactly how I feel right now. |
| Natsuko: Yes. I heard that in the studio, it gets even worse in the summer. Why is that? |
| Sachiko: You wait and see! Maybe I will take a couple of months off from this work, summer vacation. |
| Natsuko: Yeah. |
| Sachiko: Yeah maybe that’s better. Well for all you listeners out there, it’s because we have to turn off the air-conditioning while we are recording this and so it gets a little bit 蒸し暑い |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Yes. Now the word 蒸す what does that mean in and of itself? |
| Natsuko: It means to steam. |
| Sachiko: Oh okay. So can we use that for cooking? |
| Natsuko: Oh yes of course. |
| Sachiko: So steamed dumplings. |
| Natsuko: おまんじゅうを蒸す |
| Sachiko: 蒸す would be the verb to steam. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: So when you say 蒸し暑い you mean it’s so hot. You feel like you are being steamed. |
| Natsuko: Yes so it means that it contains moisture. |
| Sachiko: Ah okay. Right because steam uses moisture. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Next word please. |
| Natsuko: 雨空 |
| Sachiko: Rainy sky. In what kind of situation would you use this word? |
| Natsuko: 今日は一日中雨空だった。 |
| Sachiko: We saw rainy skies all day long today. This is pertaining to the sky and not the weather condition. |
| Natsuko: Yes I think both but mainly you describe the state of the sky where it’s all gray and sort of you feel that… Gloomy. |
| Sachiko: Oh yes. Okay next word please. |
| Natsuko: 梅雨 |
| Sachiko: Rainy season, rain during the rainy season. |
| Natsuko: (slow)つゆ (natural speed) 梅雨 |
| Sachiko: And the kanji for this, if you check out our PDF, you will see the kanji for plum and rain. |
| Natsuko: Yes, it's a very interesting plum. You don’t usually read it this way. I think it’s because during the rainy season in June and July, there are a lot of plums ripening. So it’s the plum season as well. |
| Sachiko: So they come together. Rainy season and plum season. Okay, next vocabulary please. |
| Natsuko: 陰る |
| Sachiko: To darken, to get dark, to be clouded, to be obscured. Now let’s look at the kanji for this. What does this kanji mean? |
| Natsuko: It means dark side or shadowed by something. |
| Sachiko: Heading by the shadow. |
| Natsuko: The weather, can we use it for any other situation? |
| Sachiko: Yeah sometimes you use it for the person’s feature, expression. |
| Natsuko: Yeah. |
| Sachiko: So a person’s facial expression will 陰る when the person is angry or upset. |
| Natsuko: Yes usually I think when the person becomes sad or there is something they are concerned about. |
| Sachiko: Well let’s look at a sample sentence for the weather. 陰る |
| Natsuko: 雲が出てきて日が陰ってきた |
| Sachiko: The clouds began to appear and it began to get dark. 日が陰る means get dark. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Do you use this often? |
| Natsuko: I think so. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Sachiko: Okay well let’s look at today’s grammar point. Today’s grammar point is a little bit different. We are actually going to go through the various expressions when you are talking about the weather. That will be useful. |
| Natsuko: Very useful and thanks to Natsuko san. We have a great set of vocabulary ready for you. Let’s go through it one by one. Natsuko san お願いします。 |
| Sachiko: Okay the first expressions about weather itself okay |
| Natsuko: 晴れ |
| Sachiko: Fair or sunny. |
| Natsuko: (slow)はれ (natural speed) 晴れ 快晴 |
| Sachiko: Bright and clear. |
| Natsuko: (slow)かいせい (natural speed) 快晴 雨 |
| Sachiko: Rain. |
| Natsuko: (slow)あめ (natural speed) 雨 雷雨 |
| Sachiko: Thunderstorm. |
| Natsuko: (slow)らいう (natural speed) 雷雨 土砂降り |
| Sachiko: Downpour. |
| Natsuko: (slow)どしゃぶり (natural speed) 土砂降り 霧雨 |
| Sachiko: Drizzle. |
| Natsuko: (slow)きりさめ (natural speed) 霧雨 大雨 |
| Sachiko: Heavy rain. |
| Natsuko: (slow)おおあめ (natural speed) 大雨 小雨 |
| Sachiko: Light rain. |
| Natsuko: (slow)こさめ (natural speed) 小雨 にわか雨 |
| Sachiko: Shower. |
| Natsuko: (slow)にわかあめ (natural speed) にわか雨 雪 |
| Sachiko: Snow. |
| Natsuko: (slow)ゆき (natural speed) 雪 大雪 |
| Sachiko: Heavy snow. |
| Natsuko: (slow)おおゆき (natural speed) 大雪 吹雪 |
| Sachiko: Blizzard. |
| Natsuko: (slow)ふぶき (natural speed) 吹雪 曇り |
| Sachiko: Cloudy. |
| Natsuko: (slow)くもり (natural speed) 曇り 薄曇り |
| Sachiko: Slightly overcast. |
| Natsuko: (slow)うすぐもり (natural speed) 薄曇り どんよりした空 |
| Sachiko: Dull sky. |
| Natsuko: (slow)どんよりしたそら 雨雲 |
| Sachiko: Rain cloud. |
| Natsuko: (slow)あまぐも (natural speed) 雨雲 |
| Sachiko: Well let’s look at the kanji for these because they are very interesting. |
| Natsuko: Yeah right. |
| Sachiko: They sort of tell you what kind of rain they are. First we have the easiest pattern which is 大雨、小雨 which is big rain and little rain. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: So obviously it is heavy rain and light rain. You also use that for 雪 right? |
| Natsuko: Right. 大雪 is heavy snow. |
| Sachiko: So that’s the more obvious ones. Let’s look at the more difficult ones. |
| Natsuko: Okay. |
| Sachiko: Let’s look at 雷雨 The first kanji used for this word means thunder and the next word is |
| Natsuko: Rain. |
| Sachiko: So together it's a thunderstorm. |
| Natsuko: Right. |
| Sachiko: Thunder and rain means 雷雨 |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Okay let’s look at another one. What about 霧雨 |
| Natsuko: 霧 means fog or haze. |
| Sachiko: Right. |
| Natsuko: So when it’s drizzling, it’s like you are inside a cloud or it is like very foggy. |
| Sachiko: It’s foggy, right? Because of the rain. So it’s the kanji for 霧 which is a fog… |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: And 雨 which is rain. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: But somehow when you use this combination, you pronounce it きりさめ |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Instead of きりあめ |
| Natsuko: Uhoo because I think きりあめ is a bit awkward to pronounce. |
| Sachiko: Right. It’s awkward and it sounds more like candy because あめ can also mean candy. |
| Natsuko: Right. |
| Sachiko: Cut off candy or something like that. |
| Natsuko: Oh you are right. |
| Sachiko: So 霧雨 is drizzle. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: What about 吹雪 |
| Natsuko: 吹雪 The first kanji used here means to blow as in the wind blowing or the snow blowing. |
| Sachiko: Yes and the second one is obviously snow. |
| Natsuko: 雪 |
| Sachiko: So snow is blowing. As in a blizzard, it’s blowing all over the place. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: So if you look at the kanji, it really brings out the condition. You can really imagine what kind of a condition you are in. |
| Natsuko: I think so. |
| Sachiko: Well I definitely recommend going to japanesepod101.com and printing out the PDF because this lesson in particular is really helpful to be looking at the kanji while we do this. |
| Natsuko: Right. You can get the feeling. |
| Sachiko: It really brings out this subtle nuance that you can see in Japan. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Okay let’s cover expressions to tell you about how you feel about the weather. |
| Natsuko: 寒い |
| Sachiko: Cold. |
| Natsuko: (slow)さむい (natural speed) 寒い 凍える |
| Sachiko: Freezing. |
| Natsuko: (slow)こごえる (natural speed) 凍える 暑い |
| Sachiko: Hot. |
| Natsuko: (slow)あつい (natural speed) 暑い むしむしする |
| Sachiko: Humid. |
| Natsuko: (slow)むしむしする (natural speed) むしむしする 蒸し暑い |
| Sachiko: Muggy. |
| Natsuko: (slow)むしあつい (natural speed) 蒸し暑い 涼しい |
| Sachiko: Cool. |
| Natsuko: (slow)すずしい (natural speed) 涼しい すがすがしい |
| Sachiko: Brisk. |
| Natsuko: (slow)すがすがしい (natural speed) すがすがしい |
| Sachiko: Well let’s look at the kanji for these two because it’s very interesting I think. First of all, I think we should note that 暑い |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: There is two or three different kanjis to write あつい |
| Natsuko: Oh yes right. |
| Sachiko: And which one do we use for the weather? |
| Natsuko: For the weather? |
| Sachiko: Uhoo.. |
| Natsuko: I think it’s pretty simple to memorize it. There are two suns. |
| Sachiko: Okay. Ah that’s right, that’s right. |
| Natsuko: In this kanji. |
| Sachiko: We have the kanji for sun at the top and the bottom of the kanji and that’s why we use it for the weather because it’s related to the sun. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: And it’s because there are two Sun’s, it’s really hot. Now another type of hot is hot temperature as in hot water. Now you will have to check out the PDF to see what that’s like… |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: But that’s very, very complicated. Now what’s the third kanji for 厚い and what does it mean? |
| Natsuko: Oh it’s – this one is completely different but it’s a word to express the thickness. |
| Sachiko: So in Japanese, it’s pronounced 厚い |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Which is the same as hot but in English, the English translation is actually thick. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: As in a thick book and usually we use it as 分厚い. |
| Natsuko: I guess it is a colloquial form. |
| Sachiko: Oh yes right. Just be careful to use different kanji for hot weather and hot water. |
| Natsuko: Yes. Yes exactly. |
| Sachiko: It’s something that even though it’s Japanese, it kind of gets mixed up sometimes. Well let’s look at some sample sentences 一つ目をお願いします。 |
| Natsuko: 昨日は雪が降って凍えるような寒さだった。 |
| Sachiko: It was snowing yesterday and freezing temperature. |
| Natsuko: ハワイは暑いけど蒸し暑くないからいいね。 |
| Sachiko: Hawaii is hot but it’s not humid. So I like it. |
| Natsuko: 五月は暑くもなく、寒くもなく、とてもすがすがしい季節です。 |
| Sachiko: It’s neither hot nor cold in May, so it’s very brisk. |
| Natsuko: I think the best way to get used to these weather words is to watch a weather forecast program. |
| Sachiko: Definitely because it’s really, really complicated. |
| Natsuko: But it’s useful once you get the idea of it. |
| Sachiko: Right. |
| Natsuko: And there is also a word のち |
| Sachiko: Later. |
| Natsuko: 晴れのち曇り |
| Sachiko: Which means it will be sunny in the beginning but later, cloudy. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: So cloudy later on in the day. So remember those keywords and then you can get the idea of Japanese weather forecast programs. |
| Natsuko: Right. |
| Sachiko: And you will notice a pattern in Japanese weather. So you will know when to come to Japan. |
| Sachiko: Oh yes yeah. |
| Sachiko: Right avoid 梅雨 |
| Natsuko: Definitely. |
| Sachiko: Definitely. |
Outro |
| Natsuko: それじゃあ、また今度。 |
| Sachiko: See you next week. |
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