雲 – 10 Must Know Clouds in Japanese
The word for cloud in Japanese is 雲. This word refers to clouds in general, but there are many many more words for clouds in Japanese. Let’s take a look at 10 of the most common types of Japanese clouds.
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Clouds in Japanese
So, we already know that 雲 is the word for cloud in Japanese. But, there are many other words that refer to specific types of clouds. Though in English most of the names for clouds are obscure scientific terms, Japanese has a lot of common language names for types of clouds. Japanese also has scientific names for these clouds but here we will be looking at the every day colloquial names.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/筋雲 – Tendon Clouds
筋雲 
are the name for Cirrus Clouds in Japanese. They are those clouds that look like stripes, strands or streaks in the sky. 筋 means tendon, like a muscle fiber but is also used to refer to fibers, strings or other similar things.
鱗雲 – Scale Clouds
Cirrocumulus Clouds in Japanese are called 鱗雲. The word 鱗 means scales like fish scales in Japanese. These clouds are broken up into smaller pieces and look like scales, hence the name.
薄雲 – Thin Clouds
Next we have thin clouds, or 薄雲. These are called Cirrostratus Clouds in English. 薄雲 look stretched or spread thinly across the sky.
羊雲 – Sheep Clouds
Altocumulus Clouds in Japanese are called 羊雲. 羊 means sheep and these clouds look like a pasture of puffy clumps gathered together in the sky.
朧雲 – Hazy Clouds
If you have ever looked up at those clouds that are hazy, or look like they are not all the way there as they disappear into the sky, these are Altostratus Clouds. Or, in Japanese they are known as 朧雲 which translates to hazy clouds.
雨雲 – Rain Clouds
Now we come to a more common type of cloud we all know. The rain cloud or Nimbostratus Cloud is called 雨雲 in Japanese and means the exact same thing.
畝雲 – Furrow Clouds
Stratocumulus Clouds are similar to 筋雲 which we mentioned above. The difference though is that these clouds are like stripes clumped closer together. They look like the rice fields in Japan or other farms furrows of dirt clumping up in stripes to grow produce. These furrows are called 畝 in Japanese, and so the clouds are called 畝雲.
霧雲 – Fog Clouds
Stratus Clouds or Fog Clouds are known as 霧雲 in Japanese. These clouds make it look kind of like the whole sky is foggy.
綿雲 – Cotton Clouds
綿雲 translate directly to cotton clouds. In English they are called Cumulus Clouds. Similar to 羊雲, These clouds look puffy. They however are not as clumped together as the 羊雲. 綿雲 are pretty much the typical type of cloud people think of when they think of clouds.
雷雲 – Lightning Clouds
Finally we have the Cumulonimbus Clouds. These are what we call lightning clouds and in Japanese they are called the same thing, 雷雲. This can be pronounced also as らいうん.
If you want to learn more Japanese I reviewed a dictionary of grammar series which I personally recommend and use myself.
