tenkou

Tenkou is a romanization that can refer to several terms in East Asian languages. In Japanese, tenkou (天候) is the standard word for weather or atmospheric conditions, used in formal and meteorological contexts. Common phrases include tenkou ga kuureru (the weather deteriorates), tenkou furyo (adverse weather), and tenkou kaifuku (weather improvement). The term is formed by 天 meaning sky or heaven and 候 meaning signs or conditions.

In Chinese, 天候 (tiān hòu) also denotes weather, though in everyday speech 天气 is more common; 天候 appears mainly in formal, literary, or historical contexts.

Outside of standard usage, tenkou may appear as a romanized form for proper names in fiction, games, or media, where the intended meaning depends on the work and is not standardized.

Etymology: This term derives from the same characters in both languages, conveying the sky’s state or atmospheric conditions.

See also: 天光 (heavenly light) and 天空 (the sky).