Why does Japanese have 50 words for rain?

There is a myth that Eskimos have 50 words for snow, but experts say this is false. On the other hand, the Japanese language has a high number of words to describe rain.

There are at least 50 words for the Japanese to describe rain, and today we will examine them. This way you will have an idea of how complex the Japanese language is. Why are there so many words for rain in Japanese?

All of this is the result of the amount of kanji that represents rain, water, fall, and similar words, not to mention the multiple readings that each ideogram has. Japanese also uses the combination of kanji to create words that in Portuguese would be phrases.

I hope you make good use of this list of Japanese words for rain. If you like the article, don’t forget to share and leave your comments. Here is the list of words below, separated by categories.

Rain in Japanese

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Kanji	Kana	Romaji	Portuguese
雨	あめ	ame	rain
白雨	はくう	hakuu	rain shower
急雨	きゅう	kyuu	rain shower
俄雨	にわかあめ	niwakaame	rain shower
降雨	こう	kou	rain

Rain by Intensity in Japanese

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弱 雨	じゃくう	jakuu	light rain
小雨	こさめ	Kosame	light rain
小降り	こぶり	koburi	light rain
微雨	びう	biu	light rain
小糠雨	こぬかあめ	konukaame	fine rain
煙雨	えんう	enu	fine rain
細雨	さいう	Saiu	drizzle
多雨	たう	tau	heavy rain
大雨	おおあめ	ooame	heavy rain
強雨	きょうう	kyouu	serious rain
横降り	よこぶり	yokoburi	rain
吹き降り	ふきぶり	fukiburi	rain
篠突く雨	しのつくあめ	shinotsukuame	intense rain
集中豪雨	しゅうちゅうごうう	shuuchuugouu	severe localized downpour

Rain Combos in Japanese

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風雨	ふ う	fuu	wind and rain
雨氷	うひょう	uhyou	freezing rain
雨後雪	あめのちゆき	amenochiyuki	rain, then snow
雪交じり	ゆきまじり	yukimajiri	snow and rain
雨混じりの雪	あめまじりのゆき	amemajirinoyuki	snow and rain
晴後雨	はれのちあめ	harenochiame	clear, then rain
雨露	うろ	uro	rain and dew

Cold Rain in Japanese

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涼 雨	りょうう	ryouu	cool rain
冷雨	れいう	Reiu	cold rain
寒雨	かんう	Kanu	winter cold rain
氷雨	ひさめ	Hisame	very cold rain or hail

Types of Rain in Japanese

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夜雨	やう	yau	night rain
梅雨前線	ばいうぜんせん	baiuzensen	seasonal rain
春霖	しゅんりん	shun rin	spring rain
春雨	しゅんう	shun u	gentle spring rain
緑雨	りょくう	ryokuu	early summer rain
五月雨	さみだれ	Samidare	early summer rain
秋雨	あきさめ	Akisame	autumn rain
秋霖	しゅうりん	shuu rin	autumn rain
凍雨	とうう	touu	winter rain
十雨	じゅうう	juuu	refreshing rain once every ten days
恵雨	けいう	keiu	welcome rain
人工雨	じんこうう	jinkouu	artificial rain
放射能雨	ほうしゃのうう	houshanouu	radioactive rain
天 泣	てんきゅう	tenkyuu	rain from a cloudless sky

Weather and Rain in Japanese

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雨模様	あまもよう	amamoyou	signs of rain
雨催い	あまもよい	amamoyoi	threat of rain
雨上り	あまあがり	amaagari	after the rain
雨後	うご	ugo	after the rain
雨間	あまあい	amaai	break in the rain
晴一時小雨	はれいちじこさめ	hareichijikosame	brief light rain
霖	ながめ	Nagame	long rain
霖雨	りんう	rinu	long rain
長雨	ながめ	Nagame	long rain
陰霖	いんりん	inrin	long rain
夕立	ゆうだち	Yuudachi	sudden evening rain