How do you say "drought" in Japanese?

干ばつ

kan batsu

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "drought" is 干ばつ (kan batsu).

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Pronunciation

Kahn-bah-TSOO, three syllables running together fairly quickly, no strong pause between them.

Writing and usage

干ばつ is written using kanji. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

長い干ばつが川を干上がらせた。

nagai kan batsuga kawa wo hiaga raseta.

The long drought dried up the river.

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How to remember 干ばつ

Kanbatsu sounds a little like 'can't bust', which fits a drought where nothing wants to grow or burst open.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 干ばつ

How do you pronounce 干ばつ?

Kahn-bah-TSOO, three syllables running together fairly quickly, no strong pause between them.

Is 干ばつ formal or casual?

干ばつ is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 干ばつ written in Japanese?

干ばつ is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as kan batsu.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Drought" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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