I am always exploring new ways to learn Japanese. A constant influx of new and different materials is one of the best tools for keeping your motivation up when learning a new language.

This week, I have been a bit melancholy about the weather. Japanese winters are hard. As most of you know, Japan isn’t a good place if you want central heat or building insulation, making the majority of houses very uncomfortable in the cold winter months. It doesn’t get too cold in Kyoto, but most of the time, my house is the exact same temperature inside that it is outside.

But I don’t want to get down about winter; it can be lovely, and I want to keep that in mind. So I decided to search for Japanese poetry about the beauty of winter.

I found a bunch of really great haiku that not only have been great practice for learning new words, but they made me feel that winter isn’t so bad after all. I want to share these with you, to hopefully warm up your insides in the coming cold months.

If you aren’t already familiar, haiku are an ancient form of Japanese poetry that uses a 17 syllable system. They are split into three lines with 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively. Of course, as a Japanese learner, you know that “syllables” really mean “kana.” These 17 kana short poems must always include a word that alludes to a season. In this case, winter. The kanji for haiku is 俳句 (はいく). Because of the strict structure of these poems, particles are often skipped, and unique or old words are often used. Even so, they are easy to understand and full of great vocabulary.

Take a look at some of these and see what you can learn from them:

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木の影や
我影動く
冬の月

き　の　かげ　や
わが　かげ　うごく
ふゆ　の　つき

The tree’s shadow and my shadow move, the winter moon.
Literally: “tree + の + shadow + や + my + shadow + move + winter + の + moon”

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さらさらと
竹に音あり
夜の雪

さらさらと
たけ　に　おと　あり
よる　の　ゆき

The rustling sound of bamboo on a snowy night.
Literally: “rustling + bamboo + に + sound + there is + night + の + snow”

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ともかくも
あなたまかせの
年の暮

ともかくも
あなたまかせ　の
とし　の　くれ

In any case, I will leave to Buddha the end of this year.
Literally: “in any case + leave everything to Buddha + の + year + の + nightfall / year end”
Note: あなたまかせ is a phrase that has two meanings, if you look at it closely it’s, あなた which means “you” and まかせ which means “to entrust.” Therefore it can mean “I will leave it to you.” In this case however, the phrase means that you will leave everything to Buddha.

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南天に
雪吹きつけて
雀鳴く

なんてん　に
ゆき　ふきつけて
すずめなく

In the southern sky, the snow blows, a sparrow sings.
Literally: “southern sky + に + snow + blow + sparrow + sing”
Note: This is a perfect example of leaving out a particle, but still being able to understand the meaning. Normally, the phrase would be 雀が鳴く（すずめ　が　なく）for “the sparrow sings.” In this case, the が is left out, but it is easy to understand. This is down on the number of kana in that line.

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初雪や
水仙の葉の
たわむまで

はつゆき　や
すいせん　の　は　の
たわむ　まで

The first snow falls until it bends the daffodil leaves.
Literally: “first snow + や + daffodil + の + leaves + の + bend + until”

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If you just went over the grammar and vocab for each of the above haiku, take the time to scroll back up and read them again. Do you get an image in your mind? When you use your imagination while reading these simple poems, it will help you remember the vocab and grammar more easily. Creating a personal connection with a Japanese word is a surefire way to push it into your long-term memory.

Now what about making a winter haiku of your own? Get creative! Make it funny if you want, or melancholy, or inspiring. But make sure to stick to the 5-7-5 kana structure. It's a great exercise to help you find different ways to say something. And that skill is essential.

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This lesson was written by Cassy L., a guest contributor: