Seasons in Japanese: Vocabulary, Pronunciation, and Cultural Guide

Key takeaways

• Japanese has four seasons with distinct names: 春 (haru, spring), 夏 (natsu, summer), 秋 (aki, autumn), and 冬 (fuyu, winter). The word for the four seasons as a concept is 四季 (shiki, literally four seasons), which is also used to describe Japan’s celebrated seasonal variety.
• Seasons in Japan are deeply embedded in culture, art, food, and daily life in ways that go beyond weather vocabulary. Each season has associated customs (花見 hanami in spring, 花火 hanabi in summer, 紅葉 kōyō in autumn, こたつ kotatsu in winter), foods, and even a poetic tradition (kigo) of seasonal reference words used in haiku.
• Japanese weather vocabulary follows predictable patterns: adjectives ending in –い (samui, cold; atsui, hot; suzushii, cool; atatakai, warm) describe the feeling of the air. Adding です (desu) makes them polite statements: 今日は寒いです (kyō wa samui desu, it is cold today).
• Japan has a rainy season called 梅雨 (tsuyu or baiu), which typically falls in June and early July across most of the country. Understanding this season is essential for travel planning and appears frequently in both weather conversations and cultural references.

The seasons are one of the most frequently discussed topics in Japanese daily conversation, and seasonal vocabulary appears in everything from weather small talk to invitations for seasonal activities. Understanding the seasons also opens the door to Japanese cultural practices that are central to daily life.

italki connects learners with Japanese tutors who can help you use seasonal vocabulary naturally in real conversation and explain the cultural context that makes these expressions meaningful. This guide covers vocabulary for all four seasons, weather words, seasonal customs, seasonal foods, and calendar language.

Work with a Japanese tutor online to practice seasonal vocabulary in real conversation and learn the cultural knowledge that makes Japanese seasonal expressions come alive.

The four seasons in Japanese

Characters	Romaji	English
四季	shiki	the four seasons
春	haru	spring
夏	natsu	summer
秋	aki	autumn / fall
冬	fuyu	winter
季節	kisetsu	season (general word)
季節の変わり目	kisetsu no kawarime	seasonal transition

Approximate seasonal dates in Japan:

• Spring: March to May
• Summer: June to August (with a distinct rainy season in June-July)
• Autumn: September to November
• Winter: December to February

Japan’s island geography and north-south extent create significant regional variation: while Okinawa barely has a winter, Hokkaido has heavy snowfall from November through April. The seasonal dates above apply broadly to the central Honshu region.

Spring vocabulary and customs

Characters	Romaji	English
桜	sakura	cherry blossoms
花見	hanami	cherry blossom viewing
花	hana	flower / blossom
梅	ume	plum blossom
春風	harukaze	spring breeze
暖かい	atatakai	warm
春雨	harusame	spring rain
卒業式	sotsugyōshiki	graduation ceremony
入学式	nyūgakushiki	school entrance ceremony
新学期	shingakki	new school term
花粉症	kafunshō	hay fever (pollen allergy)
春分	shunbun	spring equinox
ゴールデンウィーク	gōruden wīku	Golden Week (late April-early May holiday period)
新緑	shinryoku	fresh green leaves (early spring foliage)

花見 (hanami) is one of the most celebrated Japanese customs. It involves gathering outdoors under cherry blossom trees to eat, drink, and enjoy the blossoms. The season is brief, typically just one to two weeks in late March or early April, and forecasts for when blossoms will peak are followed nationwide.

Spring in Japan coincides with the start of the school and fiscal year (April 1), making it a time of new beginnings. This cultural framing makes spring vocabulary particularly common in conversations about change, new starts, and hopes.

Summer vocabulary and customs

Characters	Romaji	English
夏休み	natsuyasumi	summer vacation
暑い	atsui	hot (weather or object)
蒸し暑い	mushiatsui	hot and humid
梅雨	tsuyu	rainy season (June-July)
台風	taifū	typhoon
花火	hanabi	fireworks
花火大会	hanabi taikai	fireworks festival
盆踊り	bon odori	Obon dance festival
お盆	obon	Obon festival (August, ancestral commemoration)
浴衣	yukata	lightweight summer kimono
夏祭り	natsumatsuri	summer festival
セミ	semi	cicada (whose sound is iconic of Japanese summer)
蚊	ka	mosquito
プール	pūru	swimming pool
海	umi	sea / ocean
冷房	reibō	air conditioning
ひまわり	himawari	sunflower

お盆 (obon) is the summer festival in mid-August during which Japanese people return to their hometowns to honor their ancestors. It is one of the three major holiday periods when travel is heaviest (along with Golden Week and New Year). Understanding obon is essential for making sense of the rhythms of Japanese social and professional life in August.

梅雨 (tsuyu) is the rainy season that affects most of Japan from June to mid-July (Okinawa from May; Hokkaido does not have a true tsuyu). During this period, rain falls for days at a stretch, and humidity is extremely high. Vocabulary related to tsuyu appears constantly in weather conversations during this season.

Autumn vocabulary and customs

Characters	Romaji	English
紅葉	kōyō	autumn foliage / changing leaves
紅葉狩り	momijigari	autumn leaf viewing (literally maple hunting)
秋風	akikaze	autumn wind
涼しい	suzushii	cool (pleasantly)
お月見	otsukimi	moon viewing (mid-autumn tradition)
十五夜	jūgoya	the full moon of mid-autumn
運動会	undōkai	school sports festival
収穫	shūkaku	harvest
稲刈り	inekari	rice harvesting
文化の日	bunka no hi	Culture Day (November 3rd national holiday)
七五三	shichi-go-san	Shichi-Go-San celebration (Nov. 15, for children aged 3, 5, 7)
秋晴れ	akibare	clear autumn sky
落ち葉	ochiba	fallen leaves
紅葉	momiji	maple leaf / red autumn leaf

紅葉 (kōyō) viewing is the autumn equivalent of hanami: people travel to parks, mountain areas, and temples to see the changing leaves. The vocabulary here has a character shared with 紅葉狩り (momijigari), using the reading momiji for the maple leaf itself and kōyō for the general foliage phenomenon.

お月見 (otsukimi), moon viewing, is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month (typically September in the Western calendar). Traditional offerings include tsukimi dango (rice dumplings) and susuki grass.

Winter vocabulary and customs

Characters	Romaji	English
寒い	samui	cold
雪	yuki	snow
雪だるま	yukidaruma	snowman (literally snow Dharuma doll)
お正月	oshōgatsu	New Year’s (the most important holiday in Japan)
年末年始	nenmatsu nenshi	year-end and New Year period
大掃除	ōsōji	year-end big cleaning
年賀状	nengajō	New Year’s cards (postcards sent to arrive on Jan. 1st)
初詣	hatsumōde	first shrine visit of the new year
こたつ	kotatsu	low heated table with blanket
鍋	nabe	hot pot dish (shared pot meal)
クリスマス	kurisumasu	Christmas (celebrated as a commercial/romantic event)
冬至	tōji	winter solstice
温泉	onsen	hot spring bath
除夜の鐘	joya no kane	New Year’s Eve temple bell (rung 108 times at midnight)
初日の出	hatsuhinode	first sunrise of the new year

お正月 (oshōgatsu) is the most important holiday in Japan, roughly equivalent in cultural weight to Christmas in Western countries. The period from December 28 to January 3 sees most businesses closed, and families gather for traditional foods (おせち料理 osechi ryōri), shrine visits (初詣 hatsumōde), and ritual activities.

こたつ (kotatsu) is a low table with a heating element underneath, covered with a blanket. Sitting around the kotatsu eating tangerines (みかん mikan) is an iconic winter image in Japan.

Weather vocabulary across seasons

Characters	Romaji	English
天気	tenki	weather
天気予報	tenkiyohō	weather forecast
晴れ	hare	sunny / clear
曇り	kumori	cloudy
雨	ame	rain
大雨	ōame	heavy rain
雪	yuki	snow
嵐	arashi	storm
風	kaze	wind
霧	kiri	fog
雷	kaminari	thunder
稲妻	inazuma	lightning
虹	niji	rainbow
湿度	shitsudo	humidity
気温	kion	air temperature
最高気温	saikō kion	high temperature (daily max)
最低気温	saitei kion	low temperature (daily min)

Using weather adjectives in sentences:

• 今日は暑いですね。(Kyō wa atsui desu ne.) It’s hot today, isn’t it.
• 最近、寒くなりましたね。(Saikin, samuku narimashita ne.) It’s gotten cold recently, hasn’t it.
• 明日は雨が降るそうです。(Ashita wa ame ga furu sō desu.) It seems like it’s going to rain tomorrow.

The sentence-final particle ね (ne) is extremely common in weather conversation, seeking agreement and creating a sense of shared observation.

Seasonal foods

Spring:

Characters	Romaji	English
桜餅	sakuramochi	cherry blossom rice cake
たけのこ	takenoko	bamboo shoots
春キャベツ	haru kyabetsu	spring cabbage
いちご	ichigo	strawberry

Summer:

Characters	Romaji	English
かき氷	kakigōri	shaved ice dessert
スイカ	suika	watermelon
素麺	sōmen	cold thin noodles
うなぎ	unagi	eel (eaten on 土用の丑の日 doyo no ushi no hi for stamina in summer heat)

Autumn:

Characters	Romaji	English
栗	kuri	chestnut
松茸	matsutake	matsutake mushroom
さんま	sanma	Pacific saury (seasonal fish)
芋	imo	sweet potato / taro

Winter:

Characters	Romaji	English
鍋料理	nabe ryōri	hot pot dishes
みかん	mikan	mandarin orange
年越しそば	toshikoshi soba	New Year’s Eve soba noodles
おせち料理	osechi ryōri	traditional New Year’s foods

Calendar and seasonal time words

Characters	Romaji	English
今年	kotoshi	this year
来年	rainen	next year
去年	kyonen	last year
今月	kongetsu	this month
来月	raigetsu	next month
先月	sengetsu	last month
今週	konshū	this week
来週	raishū	next week
先週	senshū	last week
季節の変わり目	kisetsu no kawarime	seasonal transition period
旬	shun	the peak season (for food, flowers, or activities)
〜の季節	~no kisetsu	the season of ~

For the complete Japanese calendar system including months and dates, the guide to months in Japanese covers the 12 months, era year system, date format, and Japanese holidays in full.

Seasonal expressions in Japanese conversation

Seasonal greetings and references are a common feature of Japanese communication, from casual conversation to formal letters.

Seasonal conversation openers:

• 今年の夏は本当に暑いですね。(Kotoshi no natsu wa hontō ni atsui desu ne.) This summer is really hot, isn’t it.
• そろそろ桜の季節ですね。(Sorosoro sakura no kisetsu desu ne.) It’s almost cherry blossom season.
• 秋になりましたね。(Aki ni narimashita ne.) Autumn has come.
• 寒くなってきましたね。(Samuku natte kimashita ne.) It’s been getting cold.

Formal seasonal greetings (used in letters and emails): Japanese correspondence often begins with a seasonal greeting phrase (時候の挨拶 jikō no aisatsu):

• 春暖の候 (shundan no kō) – In this warmth of spring…
• 盛夏の候 (seika no kō) – In the height of summer…
• 秋冷の候 (shūrei no kō) – In the cool of autumn…
• 厳寒の候 (genkan no kō) – In the severe cold of winter…

These formal seasonal phrases appear in business letters, formal invitations, and traditional correspondence. Learning to recognize them helps with reading formal Japanese text.

Practice seasonal vocabulary with a tutor

Seasonal vocabulary in Japanese connects to cultural knowledge, customs, and social practices that cannot be fully understood from a vocabulary list alone. A tutor can help you use seasonal expressions naturally in context, explain the cultural significance behind customs like hanami or obon, and help you participate in seasonal conversation with the cultural awareness that makes it meaningful.

italki’s 30,000+ expert tutors include native Japanese speakers who can bring seasonal culture to life in your lessons with stories, photos, and firsthand accounts of seasonal traditions. Trusted by over 10 million learners worldwide, the platform lets you find a tutor whose teaching style matches your learning goals. Book a trial lesson and start learning Japanese seasonal vocabulary in the cultural context that makes it stick.

FAQ

What are the four seasons in Japanese?

Spring is 春 (haru), summer is 夏 (natsu), autumn is 秋 (aki), and winter is 冬 (fuyu). The collective concept of the four seasons is 四季 (shiki). The general word for season is 季節 (kisetsu).

What is hanami in Japanese?

花見 (hanami) is the Japanese custom of gathering outdoors to view cherry blossoms (桜, sakura) in spring. The word literally means flower viewing. It is one of the most celebrated seasonal traditions in Japan, typically occurring in late March and early April. People gather in parks under cherry trees to picnic, drink, and enjoy the brief bloom.

Does Japan have a rainy season?

Yes. Japan’s rainy season is called 梅雨 (tsuyu), typically occurring from early June to mid-July across most of Honshu. During this period, the country experiences extended periods of rain and high humidity. Okinawa enters tsuyu earlier (May), and Hokkaido does not experience a traditional rainy season.

How do you say it’s cold in Japanese?

寒い (samui) means cold in terms of weather or temperature felt by the body. To make a polite statement: 寒いです (samui desu), It is cold. To describe an object being cold to the touch, 冷たい (tsumetai) is used instead: 水が冷たい (mizu ga tsumetai), The water is cold.

What is kotatsu?

こたつ (kotatsu) is a traditional Japanese heated table consisting of a low wooden table frame with a heat source underneath, covered by a heavy blanket or duvet (kotatsu futon). Family members sit around it with their legs under the blanket to stay warm in winter. It is an iconic symbol of Japanese winter domesticity and appears frequently in winter-themed vocabulary and cultural references.