今日は「立秋」、暦の上では秋が始まる

Welcome to Japanese Daily News. I'm Maya. Today is August seventh. It is still the middle of a very hot summer, but on Japan's traditional calendar, today is actually the first day of autumn. Let's listen.

Now let's break it down, sentence by sentence.

Today, August seventh, is the first day of autumn on Japan's traditional calendar. On paper, autumn starts today.

It means autumn.

But in reality, this is the hottest time of the whole year. This summer has been very hot too, with day after day of thirty-five degrees Celsius or more.

It means hot.

The heat that comes after this day has a special name. It means the heat that remains, or lingering heat.

It means to remain, or to be left over.

From today, the greetings in letters also change. Instead of a midsummer greeting card, people now send a late-summer greeting card.

It means a letter.

But little by little, autumn is coming closer. In the early evening, a special kind of cicada sings with a cool, clear voice.

It means early evening.

Dragonflies start to fly in the sky. And the sun sets a little earlier each day.

It means to fly.

Let's listen to the whole story one more time.

Time for a short quiz. Listen and try to answer.

Autumn. On the traditional calendar, autumn starts today.

Thirty-five degrees Celsius or more.

That's all for today. The calendar says autumn, but the heat is not over yet, so please drink plenty of water and take care of yourself. And maybe this evening, listen for that cool cicada voice in the air. See you next time.