Japanese idioms about weather and places

Each Japanese idiom below comes with what its words literally say, what it means and how other languages put the same idea. To see every language at once, open the side-by-side page for weather and places.

  1. バケツをひっくり返したような雨

    baketsu o hikkurikaeshita yō na ame

    lit. ‘rain like an upturned bucket’

    It is raining very heavily.

    Elsewhere

  2. 身を切るような寒さ

    mi o kiru yō na samusa

    lit. ‘a cold like it cuts your body’

    It is bitterly cold.

    Elsewhere

  3. 陸の孤島

    riku no kotō

    lit. ‘an isolated island on land’

    A very remote place, far from towns and people.

    Elsewhere

  4. 目と鼻の先

    me to hana no saki

    lit. ‘the tip between eyes and nose’

    A very short distance away.

    Elsewhere

  5. お祭り騒ぎ

    omatsuri sawagi

    lit. ‘festival uproar’

    There's a lively party or a lot going on somewhere.

    Elsewhere

  6. うだるような暑さ

    udaru yō na atsusa

    lit. ‘heat that makes you feel boiled’

    It is extremely hot.

    Elsewhere

  7. すし詰め

    sushizume

    lit. ‘packed like sushi in a box’

    Packed tightly together in a crowded place.

    Elsewhere

Phrases in bold with a red marker are written up. The rest are waiting for their own page and a check by a native speaker.