Speaking Japanese – Weather – Conversation Starters

Imagine for a moment that you’re suddenly in Japan… you’re in Tokyo in Ueno park just enjoying some people watching, and then you see her (or him). Your Japanese idol. Maybe it’s a famous fashion designer or game developer, or perhaps your favorite author, poet, musician or artist, or perhaps it’s someone strikingly attractive. You want to break the ice. You want to make small talk and start a conversation… but how?!

Then you remember reading this article and say:

“最近、いい天気ですね”

“そうですね,” she says.

“明日、雨ですよ” You comment. You heard the weather report that morning.

“明日?ありがとう!” She says, thanking you, “I speak some English, too. Where are you from?”

And there you go! Breaking the ice and starting that conversation. Well, maybe it wouldn’t really go that well, but we can dream, can’t we?

This article is all about conversation starters and starting off with a good neutral topic – weather. Talking about the weather is an amazing way of breaking the ice and moving on to where someone’s from or what they do or what their hobbies are. By the end of this lesson, you’ll know a few phrases and some words that will let you approach anyone and start a conversation! And you’ll have done it in Japanese!

Talking about the weather is a great way to make chit chat and start a casual conversation. First I’m going to introduce you to some nouns and adjectives to allow you to combine them and create a staggering amount of basic statements. Let’s with start with some basic nouns:

天気 tenki – weather

ame – rain

kumo – cloud

yuki – snow

kaze – wind

kaminari – lightning/thunder

kasa – umbrella

季節 kisetsu – season

haru – Spring

natsu – Summer

aki – Fall

fuyu – Winter

niji – rainbow

giri – fog

sora – sky

koori – ice

arashi – storm

梅雨 tsuyu – rainy season

今日 kyo – today

明日 ashita – tomorrow

来週 raishu – next week

最近 saikin – recently, these days

Now for some adjectives:

暑い atsui – hot

寒い samui – cold

蒸し暑い mushiatsui – humid

晴れの hare no – fine (clear [skies])

涼しい suzushii – cool

暖かい atatakai – warm

いい ii – good, nice

嫌な iya na – bad, poor

So here’s the formula: _time-adjective_ , _adjective_ _noun_ desu (ne/yo).

The “desu” basically means “is,” a grammatical equal sign. Also, you can add “ne” (ね) at the end to prompt a response from the listener. It would somewhat equate to saying “y’know” or “don’t you think.” If you want to add a little more umph to your statement, you can add “yo” (よ). OR, just to give you more options, you could add “ka” (か) to make the statement a question. Whoa, isn’t that cool? See how easy Japanese can be!? Let’s see some examples:

ashita, arashi desu ka – Is there going to be a storm tomorrow?

iya na fuyu desu yo – It’s been an awful winter!!

saikin, samui desu ne – It’s been cold lately, don’t you think?

ii niji desu – It’s a nice rainbow

kyo, hare no sora desu ne – The sky is so nice today

mushiatsui natsu desu yo – It’s such a muggy humid summer!

Looking at all these examples, you’ll notice I don’t rigidly stick to the formula all the time. Sometimes there’s no time-adjective, or no noun, or no adjective. All of these are OK. The point is to give you tools and words and a flexible sentence structure you can use to say a whole bunch of things. You want to communicate, and we want to make that happen… And I want you to go out and make friends and have fun! J

Want to discuss the finer points of meteorology in Japanese? Or, want to apply to be the next weather forecaster on NHK? Schedule some lessons at Hills Learning! We’ll make clear weather the forecast for your Japanese language learning future.

The Vocabulary of Japanese Food – Sweet Potatoes

(For more information on where these recipes came from and more Japanese cooking vocabulary, check out my previous posts for Yellowtail Teriyaki, Cashew Chicken, Roast Chinjao, and Tonkatsu!)

Did you read about Fall foods in Japan yet? If you have, you’ll notice that the first food listed is sweet potatoes. Have you ever wondered how to make them into a dessert, Japanese style? Read on and learn how!

スイートポテト – Sweet Potatoes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

English Japanese
400 g sweet potatoes (0.88 lb or 14.1 oz) さつまいも 400g
32 g butter (about 2.5 Tbsp) バター 32g
60 g granulated sugar (about 1/3 cup) グラニュー糖 60g
4 Tbsp whole milk 牛乳 大さじ4
Dash of salt 塩 少々
2 egg yolks (divided) 卵黄 1個分+1個分
1 Tbsp dark rum ラム酒 大さじ1
A little bit of water 水 少々

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 180°C (356°F). Peel the sweet potatoes, then cut into rounds 3 cm in width. Place the sliced potatoes into a bowl of water as you cut them, then drain when ready to proceed to the next step.

Fill a saucepan with plenty of water, then put in the potatoes and heat until the water is boiling. When they can be easily pierced with a chopstick or fork, remove from heat and drain the hot water.

While the potatoes are still hot in the drained saucepan, quickly crush them until they are broken up into small pieces. Add the 32 g of butter and mix well. Then add the 4 Tbsp of milk, 60 g granulated sugar, and salt, then heat on low heat. While stirring constantly, let the moisture evaporate, and mash until the potatoes become smooth.

Quickly cool the potatoes by placing the hot saucepan into a bowl of ice water. When they have cooled a bit, add one of the egg yolks and 1 Tbsp rum, then mix well.

Lay down some parchment paper on a flat surface like a counter or table. Divide the sweet potato dough into four equal sections and place on the paper. Form each into a football-like shape by wrapping them in the parchment, then using a dish towel on the outside of the wrapper to manipulate the hot dough.

In a small bowl, put in the other egg yolk and add a little water, then mix. Place the football-shaped sweet potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then lightly brush the tops with the egg mixture.

Put the baking sheet on the top rack in the oven, which should be between 180-200°C (356-392°F). For two potato shapes, bake for 15-20 minutes. For 4, bake for 20-25 minutes. When the tops dry out after baking, take the potatoes out of the oven and brush with the egg mixture once more. Then put them back in the oven for 2-3 minutes. When the tops have browned, they are ready to be taken out of the oven and served.

(Note: Japanese dessert sweet potatoes are often served with a bit of honey on top.)

Vocabulary:

Japanese Romaji Meaning
はかり hakari Scale (ie. Cooking scale)
ピーラー piiraa Vegetable peeler
オーブン oobun Oven
オーブンシート oobun shiito Parchment paper
ふきん fukin Dish towel; dish rag
ハケ hake Brush (here, refers to a cooking or pastry brush)
バター bataa Butter
牛乳 gyuunyuu Milk
卵黄 ranou Egg yolk(s)
たっぷり tappuri Fully; amply; generously
細かい komakai Small; fine
つぶす tsubusu To crush; smash; mash
氷水 koori mizu Ice water
敷く shiku To spread; lay out
生地 kiji Dough
溶きほぐす toki-hogusu To scramble (an egg)
表面 hyoumen The surface; face; ouside; exterior
上段 joudan The upper row, tier, step, or rack