天候
てんこう
tenkou
= weather; atmospheric conditions
When Japanese speakers check the forecast before a long trip or a national weather broadcast announces an incoming typhoon, they reach for tenkou — not the casual tenki you hear at the breakfast table. Tenkou carries a sense of measured, objective observation: it describes weather as a meteorological condition rather than today’s inconvenience.
Tenkou (天候) refers to atmospheric or weather conditions, typically over a span of time or across a geographic area. While tenki (天気) is the word you use when chatting about whether to carry an umbrella, tenkou appears in contexts that treat weather as a phenomenon to be assessed — news reports, aviation briefings, agricultural advisories, and formal writing. It pairs naturally with adjectives like warui (bad) in akutenkou (悪天候, inclement weather) and fuantei (unstable) to describe shifting conditions. The register is noticeably more formal or written than tenki.
The most important distinction for learners is the tenki vs. tenkou split. Use tenki (天気) in everyday speech: Kyou no tenki wa ii ne (“Nice weather today, isn’t it?”). Reach for tenkou when the context is formal, written, or meteorological: news headlines, travel advisories, and compound words like akutenkou (悪天候, bad weather/inclement conditions). A quick rule: if you could replace the word with “the weather” in a newspaper headline, tenkou fits; if you’d say it to a friend over coffee, tenki is more natural. Also note that tenkou is rarely used alone as a question — you would not say Tenkou wa dou? where a native speaker would say Otenki wa dou?
The first character, 天 (ten), depicts the sky above a person — a horizontal stroke over the character for “large” (大) — conveying the vast expanse overhead. The second character, 候 (kou), originally showed a person scanning the horizon and carries meanings of “season,” “climate,” and “condition.” Together, 天候 literally reads as “the condition of the sky” — a fitting description for weather observed and measured rather than simply felt.
Everyday use
出発前に明日の天候を確認しておいた方がいい。
Shuppatsu mae ni ashita no tenkou wo kakunin shite oita hou ga ii.
You should check tomorrow’s weather conditions before you leave.
Casual / Social Media
悪天候で花見が中止になってしまった。残念すぎる。
Akutenkou de hanami ga chuushi ni natte shimatta. Zannen sugiru.
The cherry-blossom viewing got cancelled because of bad weather. So disappointing.
Formal / Cultural context
今週末は全国的に天候が不安定になる見込みです。
Konshuumatsu wa zenkokuteki ni tenkou ga fuantei ni naru mikomi desu.
Weather conditions are expected to be unstable nationwide this weekend.
Japan’s four distinct seasons make weather a constant, almost ritual topic of conversation and observation. The arrival of tsuyu (梅雨, the rainy season) each June, the fierce heat of August, the crisp clarity of autumn, and winter snowfall in the north each carry cultural weight — poets, farmers, and city-dwellers alike have tracked these shifts for centuries. Tenkou captures this observational tradition: it is the word used when weather is something to be read and respected, not just endured.
Typhoon season, running roughly from August through October, brings tenkou into sharp relief on Japanese news broadcasts. Meteorologists use the word constantly during typhoon tracking segments, pairing it with terms like akutenkou and tenkou furyou (天候不良, poor weather conditions) to communicate risk. For learners watching Japanese news during this period, recognising tenkou is essential to understanding safety announcements and transport disruption reports.
There is also a subtle cultural appreciation embedded in the word’s formality. Opening a letter or formal email with a seasonal weather reference — a practice called jikouaisatsu (時候挨拶) — sometimes uses tenkou to set a respectful, observational tone. Phrases like Osamukerashii tenkou ga tsuzuite orimasu ga (“As the cold weather continues…”) signal attentiveness to nature and consideration for the reader, reflecting the Japanese value of reading one’s environment carefully.