Meaning

Primary

Rainy Season

Word Type

noun

Explanation

In the ume season, it rains a lot in Japan (and some other East Asian countries). That's why ume rain means rainy season. It usually happens from the end of May to mid-July, when ume get ready to be harvested.

Keep in mind this is a seasonal word unique to Japan and East Asia, so you usually don't use it to refer to rainy seasons that happen in other regions of the world.

Reading

つゆ
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

This word uses an exceptional reading, so don't try to read this with the kanji readings you already learned. Here's a mnemonic to help you:

Rainy season is a special season to you (つゆ). All of your favorite things in the year happen during rainy season, like… staying inside all day because all it does is rain! But to you, there's nothing better than rainy season.

Context

Common Word Combinations

  • 梅雨が明ける

    the rainy season ends

    梅雨が終わる

    the rainy season ends

    梅雨が始まる

    the rainy season starts

Context Sentences

日本の六月から七月は梅雨のシーズンです。

The rainy season lasts from June to July in Japan.

関東は昨日梅雨に入ったそうです。

The rainy season started in Kanto yesterday.

梅雨はジメジメして嫌だけど、梅雨が明けて一気に暑くなるのも嫌なんだよなぁ。

I don't like the rainy season because it gets too humid, but I also don't like how it suddenly gets really hot once it ends.

Kanji Composition