土砂降り

Japanese
Kanji in this term
土 砂 降
ど
Grade: 1		 しゃ
Grade: 6		 ふ > ぶ
Grade: 6
kan’yōon goon kun’yomi
Alternative spellings
どしゃ降り
土砂降

Etymology

Compound of 土砂 (dosha, “soil and sand”) +‎ 降り (furi, “falling”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 降る furu, “to fall”, such as rain or other precipitation).[1][2] The furi changes to buri as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

According to some sources,[3] the dosha portion is from adverb どしゃくしゃ (doshakusha, “in a confusion, in a turmoil”), with the 土砂 spelling used as ateji (当て字). According to other sources,[1] the dosha portion is a metaphor for heavy rain.

First appears in texts from the early 1900s.[1]

Compare the English expressions to rain cats and dogs, or to rain pitchforks and hammer handles.

Pronunciation

Noun

土(ど)砂(しゃ)降(ぶ)り • (doshaburi) 

  1. a downpour, pelting rain

Usage notes

Unlike the synonyms, doshaburi is only used in reference to rain, and is not used to describe snowfall.

Synonyms

References
  1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  4. 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), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
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