How to say “heat wave” in Japanese
3 phrases · Tourist, Learner, and Local levels · with pronunciation
猛暑です。
🔊 Mōsho desu
Literally: “It's extreme heat.”
💡 猛暑 (mōsho) = fierce/extreme heat. Japanese weather reports use this classification for 35°C+ days.
猛暑日が続いてますね、熱中症に気をつけてください。
🔊 Mōsho-bi ga tsuzuite masu ne, necchūshō ni ki wo tsukete kudasai
Literally: “The extreme heat days are continuing — please be careful of heatstroke.”
💡 猛暑日 = extreme heat day (official term, 35°C+); 熱中症 = heatstroke. Practical, shows cultural literacy about Japan's heat safety messaging.
うだるような暑さで溶けそう、熱帯夜も続いて寝られないですよ。
🔊 Udaru yō na atsusa de tokesō, nettaiya mo tsuzuite nerarenai desu yo
Literally: “The sweltering heat makes me feel like I'll melt, and the tropical nights keep going so I can't sleep.”
💡 うだるような暑さ = boiling/sweltering heat; 溶けそう = feels like melting; 熱帯夜 (nettaiya) = tropical night (25°C+ at night, official term). The combination of day heat + sleepless nights is the real suffering.
About these Japanese phrases
These Japanese weather phrases cover three levels of fluency for expressing heat wave conditions. The Tourist phrase is what any beginner can use immediately. The Learner phrase sounds natural in everyday conversation. The Local phrase uses authentic idioms and expressions that native speakers actually use — the kind of phrase that makes locals smile when they hear a foreigner use it.
Practice with audio pronunciation
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