Nature, weather and environment

What holds these lists together

Weather opens most conversations in Japanese as it does in English, but with an ending English has no equivalent for: 暑(あつ)いですね invites agreement rather than giving information, and the expected answer is そうですね. The seasons organise more of the vocabulary than they do in English; the rainy season, 梅雨(つゆ), has its own name, and its beginning and end are announced on the news. Natural hazards are everyday words here rather than specialist ones: 地震(じしん), 台風(たいふう) and 避難(ひなん), evacuation, appear on notices at school, at work and in the street, which is why the lists go from the forecast to preparing for a disaster and rebuilding after it.

For example: 天気(てんき) (weather), 山(やま) (mountain), 天気予報(てんきよほう) (weather forecast), 環境(かんきょう) (environment; surroundings), 島(しま) (island), 災害(さいがい) (disaster)

Spread across the levels

The category runs across the levels — it is an area, not a difficulty. If you practise it, you can also choose a level at the top of the practice page and then get only the part that sits there.