Deciding to Stay Inside in Bad Weather | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 天気が悪そうです。

   The weather looks bad.

   天気

   weather

   悪そうです

   looks bad

   More detail

   天気 means “weather.” It is a noun and commonly appears with が when the weather is the thing being described: 天気がいいです。 means “The weather is good.” 悪そうです expresses an appearance or impression: “looks bad” or “seems bad.” The adjective 悪い (“bad”) changes to its stem 悪 before そうです, giving 悪そうです. This pattern is useful for describing how something appears: おいしそうです。 means “It looks delicious.” Here, です makes the expression polite; it is not part of the adjective’s base form. Putting the parts together, 天気が marks the weather as the thing being described, and 悪そうです says that it appears bad. The whole utterance therefore means “The weather looks bad.”

2. 嵐が来るかもしれません。

   A storm may be coming.

   嵐

   storm

   来る

   come

   かもしれません

   may; might

   More detail

   嵐 means “storm.” It is a noun and is the subject here. A useful pattern is N が来る (“N comes/is coming”); for example, 春が来る。 means “Spring is coming.” 来る is the dictionary form of the verb meaning “to come.” In this sentence, its nonpast form refers to a possible event that is approaching: “be coming” or “come.” The subject is marked by が, so 嵐が来る means “a storm is coming.” かもしれません expresses uncertainty: “may” or “might.” It follows the plain form 来る and makes the complete predicate 来るかもしれません (“may be coming”). かもしれません is the polite form; the less formal equivalent is かもしれない. Together, 嵐が来るかもしれません。 means “A storm may be coming.” The sentence presents the storm’s arrival as possible rather than certain.

3. 家の中にいましょうか。

   Should we stay inside?

   家

   house; home

   の中

   inside

   に

   in; at

   いましょうか

   shall we stay?

   More detail

   家 means “house” or “home.” Here it is the place being described, not necessarily a particular house identified by the sentence. The noun can be used in patterns such as 家にいる (“be at home”) and 家に帰る (“return home”). の中 means “the inside of.” の links 家 to 中: 家の中 is literally “the inside of the house.” 中 can also refer to the inside of other places or containers, as in 箱の中 (“inside the box”). に marks the place where someone is or remains. In 家の中に, it marks “inside the house” as the location. This differs from で, which commonly marks the place where an action takes place; for example, 家で食べる means “eat at home.” いましょうか is the polite suggestion form of いる (“to be; to stay [for a person or animal]”) plus ましょうか (“shall we ...?”). The relevant verb here is いる, not 今 (“now”): the spelling and meaning show the verb いる in this construction. 〜ましょうか proposes a shared action or state, so いましょうか means “shall we stay?” In a different sentence, 何を食べましょうか means “What shall we eat?” Together, 家の中に (“inside the house”) and いましょうか (“shall we stay?”) produce the question “Should we stay inside?” The sentence proposes remaining indoors, without specifying a separate actor beyond the shared “we” understood by the suggestion form.

4. 通り過ぎるまで、ここで待ちましょう。

   Let's wait here until it passes.

   通り過ぎる

   pass by

   まで

   until

   ここ

   here

   待ちましょう

   let’s wait

   More detail

   通り過ぎる means “to pass by” here. Its dictionary form is used before まで in this time expression: 通り過ぎるまで means “until it passes by.” The form does not identify what “it” is; that referent is left to the context. まで marks the endpoint of a period or action. In this sentence, it means “until,” so the waiting continues up to the point expressed by 通り過ぎる. For example, 雨がやむまで待ちます。 means “I will wait until the rain stops.” ここ means “here,” referring to the place understood by the speakers. It is a location word; そこ commonly means “there” relative to the speaker’s location, while ここ indicates the speaker’s location or the place being designated as here. 待ちましょう means “let’s wait.” The base verb is 待つ (“to wait”), and 待ちましょう is its polite volitional form. It proposes a shared action: 行きましょう。 means “Let’s go.” The polite non-volitional form 待ちます means “wait” or “will wait,” rather than making the same proposal. Together, 通り過ぎるまで sets the time limit, ここで means “here” with で marking the place where the action occurs, and 待ちましょう proposes waiting. The whole utterance means “Let’s wait here until it passes.”

5. それが終わったら、外に出られますか。

   Can we go out after it stops?

   それ

   it

   終わったら

   after it ends

   外

   outside

   出られますか

   can go out?

   More detail

   それ means “it” here. It is a demonstrative pronoun referring to something already identifiable in the situation; the supplied translation gives the intended English reference as “it,” but does not name the thing. Japanese それ is the form used for something associated with the listener or previously mentioned, rather than a noun whose specific identity must be stated again. 終わったら comes from 終わる, “to end” or “finish.” The observed form is the plain past 終わった plus ら, forming a conditional/temporal pattern: V-たら can mean “when/after V happens.” Thus 終わったら presents the going-out as subsequent to that event. In this sentence, the fixed translation gives the compatible sense “after it stops.” A reusable example is 雨が止んだら、出かけます。 — “When the rain stops, I’ll go out.” 外 is the noun “outside” or “the outdoors.” In 外に, the particle に marks the destination or direction, so 外に出る means “go out” or literally “go to outside.” The noun itself is 外; に is a separate grammatical element. 出られますか is built from 出る, “to go out” or “leave.” 出られる is its potential form, expressing ability: “can go out.” 出られますか is the polite question form, asking whether going out is possible. The Japanese subject is omitted; in the fixed translation it is understood as “we.” Compare 出ますか (“Will you/are you going out?”), which asks about going out rather than specifically about ability. Together, それが終わったら sets the time condition, 外に gives the destination, and 出られますか asks about the possibility of going there. The whole utterance therefore means, “Can we go out after it stops?”

6. もう一度天気を確認して、そのときに決めましょう。

   We can check the weather again and decide then.

   もう一度

   again; one more time

   天気

   weather

   確認して

   check and

   そのときに

   then; at that time

   決めましょう

   let’s decide

   More detail

   もう一度 means “again” or “one more time.” 一度 is “one time,” and もう一度 marks a repeated action: the weather will be checked again, not for the first time. Example: もう一度言ってください。 — “Please say it one more time.” 天気 means “weather.” It is a noun and can be used with を when it is the thing examined or checked, as here. Example: 天気を見ます。 — “I look at the weather.” 確認して is the て-form of 確認する, “to check” or “to confirm.” The て-form connects this action to the following action: “check ..., and then ...” The subject is not stated in this sentence; the fixed translation presents the shared actor as “we.” Example: 予定を確認して、連絡します。 — “I’ll check the schedule and contact you.” そのときに means “then” or “at that time.” その points to something already understood, とき means “time,” and に marks the relevant point in time. Here it refers to the time after checking the weather again, as shown by the fixed translation. Example: そのときに話しましょう。 — “Let’s talk then.” 決めましょう is the polite volitional form of 決める, “to decide.” ましょう presents a proposal or invitation to do the action, so this form can be understood as “let’s decide.” The verb 決める takes the thing being decided as its object: 日程を決める means “decide the schedule.” Together, もう一度天気を確認して gives “check the weather again,” and そのときに決めましょう gives “let’s decide then.” The full utterance is therefore: “We can check the weather again and decide then.”

7. 待っている間に、お茶を入れましょう。

   We can make some tea while we wait.

   待っている

   be waiting

   間に

   while; during

   お茶

   tea

   入れましょう

   let’s make

   More detail

   待っている comes from 待つ (“to wait”). The ている form shows an ongoing situation here: “be waiting.” This is different from the simple non-past 待つ, which can mean “wait” or “will wait” depending on context. Example: 彼は今待っている。 — “He is waiting now.” 間に is the temporal pattern 〜間に, meaning “while …” or “during …”. In this sentence, it marks the time in which the next action takes place. The preceding clause uses 待っている: 待っている間に means “while we are waiting.” Example: 料理をしている間に、音楽を聞きます。 — “I listen to music while cooking.” お茶 means “tea.” The お is part of the polite form commonly used with this word; it is not a separate word meaning “tea.” With the particle を, the phrase お茶を marks tea as the thing acted on. In the fixed sentence, the tea is the object of 入れましょう. 入れましょう comes from 入れる, whose basic meanings include “put in” and, in expressions such as お茶を入れる, “make or brew tea.” The ending 〜ましょう is the polite volitional form. With another participant included, it commonly presents a proposal such as “let’s …”; here it is compatible with the translation “We can make some tea.” Example: コーヒーを入れましょう。 — “Let’s make some coffee.” Putting the parts together, 待っている間に sets the time (“while we are waiting”), and お茶を入れましょう proposes making tea. The whole utterance means: “We can make some tea while we wait.”

8. それで時間を過ごせます。

   That will help pass the time.

   それで

   with that; that way

   時間

   time

   過ごせます

   can spend; can pass

   More detail

   それで means “with that” or “by that means” here. The particle で marks the means or circumstance used to achieve something. In this context, the intended “that” is the means referred to by the translation, with the preceding context about making tea providing the immediate situation. A reusable pattern is それで + result: “with that, …” or “that way, …”. 時間 means “time.” In 時間を過ごす, it forms a common expression meaning “to spend time” or, depending on the context, “to pass the time.” The particle を marks 時間 as what is spent or passed. 過ごせます is the polite form of the potential form 過ごせる, from the base verb 過ごす (“spend; pass”). 過ごす describes spending or passing time, while 過ごせる presents that as possible; ます makes the expression polite. For example: ここで楽しく時間を過ごせます。 — “You can spend time pleasantly here.” The subject is not stated in the Japanese sentence, so the form does not by itself specify who can do this. Together, それで (“with that/by that means”) and 時間を過ごせます (“can spend or pass time”) produce “That will help pass the time.” The sentence presents the mentioned means as making it possible to pass the time, in a polite style.