In most parts of Japan, in early summer, with the exception of Hokkaido, there is a rainy season called, "tsuyu". "Tsuyu" is written with a combination of the kanji characters for "plum" and "rain"; since it is the season when plums ripen. Let's learn the kanji character for "rain" with step-by-step kanji stroke order instructions. The rainy season begins in early June and lasts until mid July, though it usually begins a month earlier in Okinawa.

There are quite a few rain themed songs in Japan. I will now introduce a children's song called, "Amefuri Kuma no ko". "Ame" means, "rain" and "amefuri" means "rainfall, rainy day, rainy weather". "Furi" is a noun form of the verb "furu (to fall)". "Kuma no ko" means "little bear". "Ko" means "child".

Amefuri Kuma no ko

???? ??? ?????
???? ???? ?????
?????? ???? ?????

???? ???? ?????
???? ???? ?????
???? ???? ?????

???? ???? ?????
???? ???? ?????
???? ???? ?????

???? ???? ?????
???? ???? ?????
???? ???? ?????

???? ???? ?????
???? ???? ??????
???? ???? ?????

Romaji Translation

Oyama ni ame ga furimashita
Ato kara ato kara futtekite
Choro choro ogawa ga dekimashita

Itazura kuma no ko kaketekite
Soutto nozoite mitemashita
Sakana ga iruka to mitemashita

Nannimo inai to kuma no ko wa
omizu o hitokuchi nomimashita
Otete de sukutte nomimashita

Soredemo dokoka ni iruyoude
Moichido nozoite mitemashita
Sakana o machimachi mitemashita

Nakanaka yamanai ame deshita
Kasa demo kabutte imashou to
Atamani happa o nosemashita

Vocabulary

oyama ?? (yama) --- mountain
ogawa ?? --- stream
dekiru ??? --- be made
itazura ???? --- mischievous
nozoku ??? --- to look, to peep
sakana ? --- fish
nannimo ?? (nanimo) --- nothing
omizu ?? (mizu) --- water
hitokuchi ?? --- a mouthful
otete ??? (te) --- hand (used to or by children)
sukuu ??? --- to scoop
nomu ?? --- to drink
dokoka ??? --- somewhere
moichido ??? (mou ichido) --- once again
yamu ?? --- to stop
kasa ?? --- umbrella
kaburu ??? --- to put on, to wear
atama ? --- head
happa ??? --- leaf
noseru ??? --- to put on

Onomatopoetic Expressions

"Choro choro" and "soutto (sotto)" are onomatopoetic expressions. They are words that describe a sound or an action. "Choro choro" is an adverb that is usually used with specific verbs. It describes the sound or appearance of water, or other liquids, when trickling. It is also used to describe a small thing running around. Here are some examples.

• Kago no naka de nezumi ga choro choro ugoiteiru. ????????????????????? --- The mouse is running around in the cage.
• Suidou no mizu ga choro choro nagareteiru. ????????????????? --- The water from the tap is trickling.

"Sotto (sootto)" describes an action that carefully avoids making a sound.

• Akachan o okosanai youni sotto heya o deta. ????????????????????? --- I left the room quietly so that I didn't wake up the baby.
• Benkyou shiteiru aida wa, sotto shite oite. ?????????????????? --- Leave me alone while I am studying.

~ ka (dou ka)

The lyrics, "Sakana ga iruka to mitemashita", translate into, "The bear was looking at the stream to see if there were any fish." "~ka" is a marker for an embedded yes-no question. It can be translated as, "whether or not".

• Takashi ga genki ka dou ka shirimasen. ?????????????? --- I don't know whether Takashi is doing well or not.
• Sore ga hontou ka shirabete miyou. ???????????????? --- Let's find out if that is true or not.

The Polite Prefix "O"

The polite prefix "o" is used with verbs, adjectives and nouns to express respect or politeness. Although, "o" can be used by both genders, there are some words where only women tend to use it. In lyrics, the prefix "o" is added to nouns such as, "yama (mountain)" and "mizu (water)". Here are some examples.

o-tegami ??? --- letter
o-denwa ??? --- phone
o-sakana ?? --- fish
o-hashi ?? --- chopstick
o-ryouri ??? --- dishes
o-suhi ??? --- sushi
o-tomodachi ??? --- friend

"Machi machi" means, "while waiting". "Machi" is the stem of the verb "matsu (to wait)". "~ nagara" also expresses an action that occurs simultaneously with another action.

• Ase o fuki fuki, hatake shigoto o shita. ?????????????? --- He worked in the field while continually wiping off his sweat.
• Ase o fuki nagara, hatake shigoto o shita. ??????????????? – He worked in the field while occasionally wiping off his sweat.

The first sentence has a nuance that he is wiping off his sweat more frequently. In English, it is more obvious.