How to say “rainy season” in Japanese
3 phrases · Tourist, Learner, and Local levels · with pronunciation
梅雨です。
🔊 Tsuyu desu
Literally: “It's the plum rain season.”
💡 梅雨 (tsuyu) = the rainy season, literally 'plum rain' because it coincides with plum ripening. June-July in Japan. Knowing this word impresses locals.
梅雨入りしましたね、じめじめして洗濯物が乾かないです。
🔊 Tsuyu-iri shimashita ne, jimejime shite sentakumono ga kawakanai desu
Literally: “The rainy season has started, it's damp and the laundry won't dry.”
💡 梅雨入り = start of tsuyu (officially announced by JMA); じめじめ = damp/humid (onomatopoeia); 洗濯物が乾かない = laundry won't dry — THE universal tsuyu complaint.
今年の梅雨はしつこいですね、いつまで降り続けるんだろう。
🔊 Kotoshi no tsuyu wa shitsukoi desu ne, itsu made furi-tsuzukeru n darō
Literally: “This year's rainy season is persistent, isn't it — I wonder how long the rain will keep going.”
💡 しつこい = persistent/relentless (usually negative — food that's too rich, a person who won't stop). Applying it to tsuyu is very natural and local. 降り続ける = to keep raining.
About these Japanese phrases
These Japanese weather phrases cover three levels of fluency for expressing rainy season 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.
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