夕立

• 読み: ゆうだち
• ローマ字: yuudachi
• 漢字の分解: 夕 (yū) — evening; 立 (tatsu) — arise, stand up
• 発音: /jɯː.da.tɕi/

意味

Sudden afternoon shower; summer evening squall. A brief, intense rain shower that occurs in the late afternoon or early evening during summer, often accompanied by thunder.

A yamato kotoba noun combining 夕 (evening) and 立つ (to arise), describing a shower that arises suddenly in the evening. 夕立 is one of the most quintessentially Japanese summer phenomena — appearing in haiku from the Edo period onward and associated with the sudden relief of summer heat. Unlike a typhoon, 夕立 passes quickly and leaves the air cooler and fresher. It is often romanticised in literature and poetry.

例文

1. 蒸し暑い真夏の午後、突然の夕立がアスファルトを叩き、涼しさをもたらした。
2. 夕立のせいで洗濯物を取り込むのが遅れ、すっかり濡らしてしまった。
3. 江戸時代の俳句には夕立を詠んだ作品が多く、日本の夏の風物詩として定着している。

使い方ガイド

場面: summer weather, daily life, poetry

トーン: familiar

起源と歴史

Native Japanese compound (yamato kotoba). 夕 (yū) means evening, and 立 (tachi) from 立つ (tatsu, to arise) suggests something rising suddenly. The compound captures the abrupt, dramatic onset characteristic of these summer showers.

文化的背景

時代: Edo–Modern

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal