Nature & Outdoors

1. うみぬ いるー いっぺーちゅらさん

   u-mi-nu i-ruu ip-pee-chu-ra-san

   The color of the sea is very beautiful

   Usage

   Used to express amazement at the stunning colors of the Okinawan sea

   Grammar Note

   "Iruu" = color in Okinawan (Japanese "iro"). Okinawan waters range from emerald green to cobalt blue and turquoise. Okinawa Island, Miyako, and Ishigaki are especially beautiful

2. さんごしょー うみんちゅ

   san-go-shoo u-min-chu

   Coral reef and the uminchu (sea people)

   Usage

   Used when talking about Okinawa's coral reefs and the tradition of uminchu (fishermen)

   Grammar Note

   "Uminchu" = "umi" (sea) + "nchu" (person). "-nchu" suffix means "person of". Same pattern as "Uchina-nchu" (Okinawan person). Coral reefs are the foundation of Okinawa's ecosystem

3. マングローブ みーてぃ びっくりさびたん

   man-gu-roo-bu mi-i-ti bik-ku-ri-sa-bi-tan

   I was surprised to see the mangroves

   Usage

   Used to express amazement at Okinawa's mangrove forests, found in the north and on Iriomote Island

   Grammar Note

   "Bikkuri sabitan" = polite past of "surprised" in Uchinaguchi. "-sabitan" = polite past ending. Iriomote Island's mangroves are Japan's largest and part of a national park

4. やんばるぬ むい ちゅらさん

   yan-ba-ru-nu mu-i chu-ra-san

   The forest of Yanbaru is beautiful

   Usage

   Used to appreciate the beauty of Yanbaru, Okinawa's northern subtropical forest

   Grammar Note

   "Yanbaru" means "mountain wilderness" — Okinawa's subtropical northern forest. Registered as UNESCO World Natural Heritage in 2021. Home to the Okinawa rail (flightless bird)

5. くるちぬ きー あいびーみ?

   ku-ru-chi-nu kii a-i-bii-mi

   Is there a kurochi (Ryukyuan ebony) tree?

   Usage

   Used to inquire about Ryukyuan ebony, the prized wood used for sanshin instrument bodies

   Grammar Note

   "Kurochi" (Ryukyuan ebony) is the most prized wood for sanshin bodies. Endemic to Okinawa and now rare. "Kii" = Okinawan for "tree/ki". Okinawa has unique subtropical flora

6. てぃーだぬ ふぃかりぬ いっぺー あかあかーとぅ そーいびーん

   Tii-da-nu hwi-ka-ri-nu ip-pee a-ka-a-kaa-tu soo-i-bii-n

   The sunlight is very bright

   Usage

   Used to describe the intense subtropical sunlight of Okinawa

   Grammar Note

   The sun is tiida, written with a long vowel. "Light" is hwikari; the synonym hwicai (hwichai) is never hwikai (example: hwii nu hwicai "the light of the sun"). Aka-akaatu sun (?aka?akaatu sjuN "to shine brightly") gives the polite progressive aka-akaatu sooibiin. Sansan (saNsaN) means "fidgety, restless" and has no sense of brightness. Okinawa's subtropical UV index runs higher than the mainland's, so sun protection matters

7. かじぬ ふちょーん

   ka-ji-nu fu-choo-n

   The wind is blowing (pleasantly)

   Usage

   Used to describe the pleasant coastal breeze in Okinawa

   Grammar Note

   "To blow" is huchun (example: kazinu ~ "the wind blows"; also kaji fuchun). The progressive is fuchoon. Kaji also appears in kajimayaa (pinwheel), the name of Okinawa's 97th-birthday longevity celebration

8. ふくぎぬ きーや ちゅらさん

   fu-ku-gi nu kii-ya chu-ra-san

   The fukugi trees are beautiful

   Usage

   Used to admire the fukugi trees, traditional Okinawan windbreak trees lining old villages

   Grammar Note

   The genitive particle is nu and the topic particle is ya, as in "fukugi nu kii ya". Fukugi trees were planted as windbreaks protecting villages from typhoons. Bise Fukugi Road is a famous tourist attraction

9. うみがーみー んーちゃびたみ？

   U-mi-gaa-mii n-cha-bi-ta-mi?

   Did you see a sea turtle?

   Usage

   Used to ask if someone saw a sea turtle, common in Okinawan waters

   Grammar Note

   A sea turtle is umigaamii (?umigaamii); plain kaamii covers turtles generally. "To see" is nnjun, whose polite past question is nchabitami. Green and loggerhead turtles both frequent Okinawan waters and nest on its beaches

10. てーふーぬ ちょーん どー、きぃつけてー

    tee-fuu-nu choo-n doo ki-i-tsu-ke-tee

    A typhoon is coming, please be careful

    Usage

    Used to warn someone of an approaching typhoon and urge caution

    Grammar Note

    "To come" is chuun (cuuN); "is coming" is its progressive choon, the same stem as chooibiimi. Okinawa is in "typhoon alley", so buildings are typhoon-proofed with thick walls and storm shutters

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