台風
Chinese
Etymology 1
| For pronunciation and definitions of 台風 – see 臺風 (“stage presence; stage demeanour”). (This term is a variant traditional form of 臺風). |
Etymology 2
| For pronunciation and definitions of 台風 – see 颱風 (“typhoon”). (This term is a variant traditional form of 颱風). |
Japanese
| Kanji in this term | |
|---|---|
| 台 | 風 |
| たい Grade: 2 |
ふう Grade: 2 |
| on'yomi | |
| Alternative spelling |
|---|
| 颱風 (dated) |
Etymology
Ultimately from Chinese 大風 / 大风 (dàfēng), but precisely how it entered Japanese is unclear.[1] For more, see typhoon.
Pronunciation
Noun
台風 • (taifū)
- (meteorology, weather) a tropical storm, with wind speeds over 34 knots (17 m/s).[3]
- (generally) a storm; a cyclone; a hurricane; willy willy
Usage notes
This term is somewhat of a false friend of typhoon. The term タイフーン (taifūn) instead refers to typhoons (with wind speed over 118 km/h).
References
- ^ Tai Whan Kim, The Portuguese Element in Japanese: A Critical Survey (1976): 16. taifū 'typhoon' Probably in view of semantic association Dalgado linked the Japanese taifū with Portuguese tufão. He is uncertain as to the immediate source of the Japanese form. There also exists in Japanese another form taifūn, not cited by Dalgado. The history of taifū and taifūn is as interesting and intricate as Portuguese tufão and English typhoon, which underlies Japanese taifūn.
- ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
- ^ 気象庁 (12 June 2025 (last accessed)) “台風とは”, in 気象庁[1]