How do you say "rainstorm" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "rainstorm" is 暴風雨 (bōfūu). It is a adjective pronounced "boh-foo-oo".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

暴風雨 is written in kanji. Romanised as bōfūu, it sounds roughly like "boh-foo-oo" to an English ear.

Example sentence

暴風雨で電車が止まりました。

Boufuu de densha ga tomarimashita.

The trains stopped because of the rainstorm.

Usage notes

Boufuu (暴風雨) means a violent storm with strong winds and rain. It is used in serious weather advisories, particularly when typhoons approach Japan.

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Questions about 暴風雨

How do you pronounce 暴風雨?

暴風雨 is romanised as bōfūu. Say it roughly like "boh-foo-oo" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 暴風雨 formal or casual?

暴風雨 is a na-adjective or noun-adjective. It is neutral in register and fits naturally in both casual and polite sentences. Add na before a noun, or use desu for a polite predicate.

How is 暴風雨 written in Japanese?

暴風雨 is written using kanji. Kanji characters carry the core meaning; any hiragana or katakana that follow show grammatical endings.

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.