Cultural reference? What counts as cold weather?

Japanese
#1

Hello,

So I just did my reviews when I stumbled on a sentence for “と同じぐらい”. I thought I was reading it wrong, because in my head the sentence made no sense. The translation confirmed my confusion.

JP: 明日の気温は今日と同じくらいで、17℃前後になります。だから暖かい服装をしてください。
ENG: The temperature tomorrow will be about the same as today, around 17℃. Therefore, please put on warm clothes.

In my universe, 17℃ is summer temperature. It means shorts and t-shirts - even if there is no sun. Heck, anything above 8℃ and I’m no longer using “warm clothes”.

So, cultural question: Is 17℃ considered cold in Japan? Is it considered cold other places in the world as well?

PS: I live in Norway

3 Likes
#2

I’d say in most parts of Japan (maybe with the exception of Hokkaido) 17C would be considered cool if it was say a cold snap in late summer early fall when the daytime highs are still normally in the upper 20s/lower 30s.

We are already hitting the low 20s (at least here in Osaka). End of July through early September will be upper 30s for daytime highs and over night lows of around 30C, pretty much every day.

4 Likes
#3

I live in Texas, US where (until recently, at least) it rarely gets down much below like 5°C even in the winter and regularly gets up to and even above 40° in the summer, but my family’s all northerners, and I would not consider that even remotely cold. I mean, it certainly ain’t warm, but it ain’t cold, either. “Cool” probably best describes it. (Though, granted, I hate the heat and prefer cooler weather.) My mother might consider it a bit chilly and would wear a light jacket, but I’d be out there in a T-shirt. Maybe that’s what they meant by “warm clothes,” a long-sleeved shirt or a light jacket? They’re “warm” for a certain definition of it…

2 Likes
#4

Thanks for the reply!
30s all the way from July to September? Geez. I can see why some Japanese take their summer vacations in Hokkaido.

2 Likes
#5

I think by warm clothes it’s implying some degree of clothes that’s above shorts and a t-shirt. At that temperature, I’m probably swapping to a long sleeve. It’s all relative though, but even then sometimes people just can’t handle the cold. I’ve seen many a people in sweaters and full blown ski jackets when the temperature hovers around there. And then I’ve seen people in shorts, shirts and sandals in the dead of winter with a heavy snowfall so 🤷🏼

2 Likes
#6

As a side note, I ran into a point of confusion when talking to a Japanese friend a few months ago:

I’m in the US, and he suggested I visit when it’s warm, during the spring or fall. I asked if that means the summer isn’t warm, and he said it doesn’t become warm until September or so. I thought this meant summer was cold, which didn’t make sense.

The confusion was caused by 暖かい specifically meaning mildly warm. 暑い is not 暖かい , although to me in English “hot” is included in “warm” when talking about weather.

“Warm” means “>=warm threshold”
暖かい means 涼しい < 暖かい < 暑い

My Japanese is poor, and my friend’s English is not much better. Is this normal usage of those words in Japanese? Or was this a quirk talking to one specific person?

Anyway, it’s something to be aware of when translating temperature between English and Japanese.

3 Likes
#7

I think it’s similar to the comments earlier in this thread.
When a Tokyo-ite says “warm”, they’re thinking it’s not winter, weather warming up, and short sleeves and shorts. When they say “hot”, they’re thinking muggy hot days, where you instantly sweat through all your clothes, and all you can do is fan yourself and eat watermelon.
I’ve been through a couple of Tokyo summers. :hot_face: :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

2 Likes
#8

I think one confusion you two might have is that “warm” is both a verb and an adjective in English, where 暖かい is only an adjective.

#9

Depends on the context. I live in Hokkaido. Yesterday was fantastic. It was 8 degrees and sunny. Damn near tropical. After the long winter it was great. Tshirt and shorts. In summer, you get a cold day of that temperature and you feel like your in frozen arctic tundra.

3 Likes
#10

Most of the time when I hear weather temperature being discussed, it’s in relation to other weather. It’s not winter now, so I hear people say it’s recently become warm(er than it was before). However, I don’t see anyone wearing T-shirts and shorts; usually lighter warm clothes.

#11

Based on my experience living in Germany anything between 16-22°C (depending on the person) is considered the perfect temperature for many. Perfect as in it is cozy warm and not uncomfortable hot. You can wear shorts and a simple T-Shirt easily but you also don’t die when you wear a bit warmer things like sweaters, jackets etc.

2 Likes
#12

When you go outside and it’s cold…that’s how you know it’s cold outside.
Sorry but I think that line is funny

3 Likes