雨 means “rain”
あめ · ame
- Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)
- あめ, あま-
- On'yomi (Chinese reading)
- ウ
JLPT N5 · Taught in grade 1 · 8 strokes
The story
In spring rain, cherry blossoms dance through temple gardens, each drop carrying whispered prayers.
Essential in Japanese poetry and daily conversation
Where it comes from
Pictographic (象形文字): Rain drops falling from a cloud in the sky.
Look at 雨 and you can still see the picture: the top horizontal stroke is the sky, the box below is a cloud, and the four dots inside are raindrops falling. This is one of the most visually faithful kanji still in use.
To remember it: A window (冂) showing rain dots falling from the sky (一). The whole thing looks like a rainy day!
Its parts
- 一 One (roof) · Top
- 冂 Border · Enclosure
- 丶 Drops (×4) · Inside
A roof with drops of water falling inside: rain
Words with 雨
- 雨水 (あまみず, amamizu): rainwater
- 風雨 (ふうう, fuuu): wind and rain
Example sentences
- 雨が降っています。 It is raining.
- 雨の日は家で本を読みます。 On rainy days, I read books at home.
- 昨日は大雨でした。 Yesterday there was heavy rain.
Kanji that look like 雨
- 雲 (cloud): 雲 puts 雨 on top of 云: rain above clouds
- 雪 (snow): 雪 puts 雨 on top of ヨ: frozen rain
- 雷 (thunder): 雷 puts 雨 on top of 田: thunder from rain over fields
More from Nature's Poetry
Learn 雨 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji
Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.