雨

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 今日は雨です。▶ —
   It's raining today.
2. 雨が降っています。▶ —
   It is raining.

Collocations

Mnemonic

あめ — 雨, Yamato. The homophone 飴 (ame, candy) lives in a separate slug — ame-rain / ame-candy. The kanji 雨 is itself a pictograph: four drops falling under a cloud. The character meets you again in Mandarin Roots, as 雨. In Japanese, rain pairs with the verb 降る furu (to fall) — 雨が降る is literally 'rain falls', closer in feel to drops descending than to "it rains".

Quick check

1. What is the natural way to say "it is raining"?

   • 雨が降っています ame ga futte imasu (correct, ongoing)
   • 雨があります (= "rain exists", unnatural)
   • 雨をします (ungrammatical — rain doesn't take する)
   • 雨です (= "It is rain", acceptable but less vivid)