梅雨

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: The spelling is 梅雨, read つゆ, and it is a noun for the period of frequent rain in early summer.
• Basic usage: 梅雨 is the rainy season when cloudy and wet weather persists in early summer in Japan and parts of East Asia.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• The onset of the season and its continuing duration
  • Both examples use the form 梅雨. 梅雨に入る marks the rainy season beginning, while 梅雨の間 refers to the time throughout which it continues.
• Hard-to-dry laundry at the start of the rainy season and flowers observed during it
  • 梅雨に入ると洗濯物が乾きにくい。 — When the rainy season begins, laundry becomes harder to dry.
  • 今年は梅雨の間も庭の花を観察した。 — This year, I observed the garden flowers even during the rainy season.