通り雨（とおりあめ、tooriame）
- passing shower

The Japanese word 通り雨 (とおりあめ) refers to a "passing shower" or a "sunshower." It describes a brief, localized rain shower that typically happens when the sun is still shining. This type of rain is often short-lived and doesn't cover a large area.

⚫︎さっき、通り雨があったよ。 Translation: There was a sunshower earlier. ⚫︎通り雨のあと、虹が出た。 Translation: A rainbow appeared after the sunshower. ⚫︎急な通り雨で、傘を持ってなくて困った。 Translation: I was caught off guard by a sudden sunshower and didn't have an umbrella.

You use 通り雨 (とおりあめ) to describe a rain shower that is both brief and often accompanied by sunshine. It's suitable for everyday conversation and can be used to describe the weather you've experienced or observed. It is often used to express the suddenness and unexpected nature of the rain.

⚫︎The word is typically written with the kanji 通り and 雨, and read as とおりあめ in hiragana. ⚫︎There is no other way to write this word. ⚫︎The okurigana is fixed.

⚫︎While there isn't a direct synonym that perfectly captures the same nuance, you could use phrases like: ⚫︎にわか雨 (niwaka ame): A sudden shower. ⚫︎夕立 (yuudachi): A summer shower (often in the evening). ⚫︎These are similar, but might not necessarily imply sunshine.

There is no direct antonym for 通り雨. However, words describing more persistent or widespread rain could be considered opposites in concept, such as: ⚫︎大雨 (ooame): Heavy rain. ⚫︎長雨 (nagaame): Prolonged rain.

今日は通り雨が降ったり止んだりして、洗濯物がなかなか乾かなかった。 ・Translation: It rained on and off with sunshowers today, and the laundry didn't dry well. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the intermittent nature of sunshowers and its effect on daily activities.

通り雨の後、空にきれいな虹が出て、とても感動した。 ・Translation: I was very moved when a beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky after the sunshower. ・Explanation: This sentence explains the feeling of seeing the rainbow after sunshower.

The word 通り雨 (とおりあめ) is composed of two parts: ⚫︎通り (toori), meaning "passing" or "through." ⚫︎雨 (ame), meaning "rain." ⚫︎Therefore, the word literally means "passing rain," describing the short-lived nature of the shower.