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Kanji for Summer
The kanji most commonly used for "Summer" are 夏、暑.
夏
Kanji that mean Summer
夏 (natsu / ka) is summer — the season of festivals (夏祭り), fireworks, cicadas and school holidays (夏休み). The character originally depicted a masked dancer at a summer rite; the season kept the festivity. In poetry 夏 arrives with the first cicada and leaves with the last firework.
暑 (sho / atsui) is the heat of summer specifically — 暑い is “hot” said of weather (a different character, 熱, handles hot objects and fevers). 残暑 is the lingering heat after summer officially ends, an annual grievance with its own greeting cards; 猛暑 is a brutal heat wave.
The season’s supporting cast: 涼 (cool — the evening relief), 蝉 (cicada), 祭 (festival), and 麦茶 barley tea in every refrigerator. Japanese summer is equal parts 夏 the festival and 暑 the endurance test.
Words using Summer kanji
Everyday Japanese vocabulary built from the characters above.
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夏休み
なつやすみ
summer vacation; summer holiday
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暑さ
あつさ
heat (of the weather); hotness
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今夏
こんか
this summer; next summer; last summer
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猛暑
もうしょ
heat wave; fierce heat
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冷夏
れいか
cool summer; cold summer; cooler-than-normal summer
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残暑
ざんしょ
late summer heat; lingering summer heat
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夏場
なつば
summertime; summer season
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避暑
ひしょ
escaping the summer heat; going somewhere cooler during the summer; summering
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夏季
かき
summer season; summer; summertime
Before you use Summer kanji
夏 reads warmly: season of festivals and youth, no negative senses — for a summer-born person or a memory it works well. 暑 is just "hot weather" and reads like a complaint. If the feeling you want is the cool of a summer evening, 涼 is the insider's choice and a lovely name kanji.