What you need to know about the seasons in Japan
How about this weather? Don’t you find that many casual conversations revolve around the weather? What if you want to say in Japanese: “It’s hot for fall, right?” Can you name the months in Japanese? Knowing how to talk about the seasons and months is an important part of many conversations. Knowing the seasons and weather in Japanese will help you ask and answer important questions and even keep you from running out of things to say! This Japanese for Beginners article helps you get started on the right foot by teaching you about the seasons and months. Learn to talk about natsu (“summer”) and the other seasons. Teacher go gatsu (“May”) along with the other months of the year. Also, she will learn to ask questions like “From what month to what month is summer in Japan?” As you can see, this Japanese article is not to be missed!
Vocabulary: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:
nihon – “Japan”
natsu – “summer”
nan gatsu – “what month”
tabun – “perhaps, probably”
shichi gatsu – “July”
hachigatsu – “August”
ku gatsu – “September”
here – “autumn fall”
Grammar: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:
Vocabulary and useful phrases
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natsu
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Natsu means “summer”. Look below to see the names of the four seasons in Japan.
“English” / Rooma-ji
“Spring” / Haru
“Summer” / natsu
“Autumn” / here
“Winter” / Fuyu
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nan gatsu
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-gatsu is a counter suffix indicating “month of the year”.
“English” / Rooma-ji
“January” / ichi gatsu
“February” / ni gatsu
“March” / san gatsu
“April” / shi gatsu
“Can” / go gatsu
“Jun” / roku gatsu
“July” / shichi catu
“August” / hachigatsu
“September” / ku gatsu
“October” / juu gatsu
“November” / juuichi gatsu
“December” / juuni gatsu
“What month?” / no-gatsu?
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Natsu wa roku-gatsu kara hachi-gatsu did desu.
“Summer is from June to August.”
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Please review the following vocabulary words and their usage:
natsu – “summer”
wow – theme marker particle
roku gatsu “Jun”
Kara – “of” (See Newbie Series 12, “Lori’s Story”)
hachigatsu – “August”
done – “Until”
from his – “copula (linking verb)”
Note that the particles follow the words; they do not precede them.
For example:
roku gatsu Kara means “from June”
hachigatsu done means “until (until) August”
You can not say:
kara roku gatsu
made hachi gatsu
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Examples:
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Fuyu wa juuni-gatsu kara ni-gatsu did desu.
“Winter is from December to February.”
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Haruwa nan-gatsu kara nan-gatsu did desu ka?
“When is spring?” (Literal meaning: “Spring is from which month to which month?”)
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Eiga wa nan-ji kara desu ka?
“What time does the movie start?”
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Shigoto wa nan-ji did desu ka?
“How long do you work?”
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Practice 1
Please make sentences using the words given. Follow the example below.
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Example:
natsu (“summer”) – June-August. [Natsu] wow [roku-gatsu] Kara [hachi-gatsu] done desu.
- shigoto (“work”) – 9:00-6:00 –>_____________________________________________________________________
- here (“autumn”) – Sep.-Nov. –>________________________________________________________________________________
- orientedhon (“orientation”) – 11:00-12:00 –>______________________________________________________________________
- natsuyasumi (“summer vacation”) – July-August. –>________________________________________________________________________________
- choose (“movie”) – 4:00-6:00 –>______________________________________________________________________
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Practice 2:
Please answer the following question.
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In your country…
- Natsu wa nan-gatsu kara nan-gatsu desu ka? –>________________________________________________________________________________
- Gakkou wa nan-ji kara nan-ji desu ka? –>________________________________________________________________________________
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