天気

てんき · tenki · JLPT N5 · noun

weather

🌦️ 天気 = sky/heaven (天) + spirit/air (気): the mood of the sky

天 (ten) means sky or heaven, and 気 (ki) means air, energy or mood, the same ki as in 元気 (genki). So weather is literally the sky's mood. Sound hook: ten-key, as if the sky holds ten keys, one for each kind of weather.

天 — 一 (one/sky) above 大 (big person)
Originally a pictograph of a person (大) with an emphasized head, representing what is above — the sky or heavens. The top stroke evolved into 一, symbolizing the vast expanse overhead. From 'sky' it extended to mean 'day,' 'heaven,' and 'nature.'

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