Quick Reference

Meaning & Definition

In Japan’s three-option weather forecast — sunny, cloudy, or rainy — kumori occupies the middle ground, a sky blanketed in gray that neither promises sun nor guarantees rain. It is the defining sky of tsuyu, Japan’s rainy season, when overcast days stretch for weeks and the word becomes part of daily life.

Kumori (曇り) describes a state of cloudiness or overcast sky as a noun. It sits between hare (晴れ, clear/sunny) and ame (雨, rain) in standard weather vocabulary. Japanese forecasts further subdivide kumori into finer states: hare nochi kumori means “sunny, then turning cloudy,” and kumori tokidoki ame means “cloudy with occasional rain.” The word carries no inherent negative connotation on its own — it is a neutral, factual label — but in poetry and everyday speech it can shade into a sense of muted, subdued atmosphere. The related verb form is kumoru (曇る), meaning “to become cloudy” or “to cloud over,” used when describing a sky that is actively changing: sora ga kumotte kita means “the sky has started to cloud over.”

How to Use It

In weather forecasts, kumori always appears as a standalone noun: ashita no tenki wa kumori desu (“tomorrow’s weather is cloudy”). When describing a sky in the process of changing, switch to the verb kumoru: gogo kara kumoru mitai desu (“it looks like it will cloud over in the afternoon”). A common learner mistake is using kumori desu to describe something that has already changed — for ongoing or completed change, kumotte iru is more natural. Also note the compound kumori garasu (曇りガラス), frosted glass, which uses the same root to mean “clouded” in a non-weather context.

Kanji Breakdown

The character 曇 is composed of 日 (sun) on top and 雲 (cloud) below, visually depicting the sun obscured by cloud cover. 雲 itself breaks down into 雨 (rain) over 云 (an old character suggesting rising vapor), so the full character 曇 encodes the idea of sunlight filtered through moisture-laden clouds. This layered construction makes 曇 one of the more descriptive weather kanji, directly illustrating what a cloudy sky looks like at the character level.

Example Sentences

Cultural Context

Japanese weather forecasts are notably precise in how they handle kumori. Rather than a single “cloudy” label, the Japan Meteorological Agency uses compound expressions to capture transitions: kumori nochi hare (cloudy, later clearing), hare tokidoki kumori (mostly sunny with periodic clouds), and kumori tokidoki ame (cloudy with occasional rain). This granularity reflects how attentively Japanese daily life tracks the sky — morning commuters, farmers, and outdoor event planners alike rely on these distinctions. The forecast grid, broken down by region and three-hour blocks, treats kumori as a meaningful category rather than a vague middle ground.

During tsuyu, the rainy season that typically runs from early June to mid-July across most of Honshu, kumori becomes the default sky for weeks at a stretch. Classical Japanese poetry — particularly in the haiku and waka traditions — associates prolonged gray skies with introspection, longing, and a gentle melancholy. The overcast light of tsuyu diffuses shadows and mutes colors, a quality that some Japanese aesthetic sensibilities find beautiful rather than dreary. This connection between kumori and interior emotional states persists in modern usage: a person might describe their feelings on a difficult day as kumori gachi na kibun (a tendency toward cloudiness), borrowing weather vocabulary to express emotional tone.

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