yellow sand; Asian dust
Refers to the seasonal phenomenon of fine sand and dust particles blown from arid regions of China and Mongolia, often causing haze and health advisories in East Asia. Commonly used in weather forecasts.
Yellow sand is expected to arrive tomorrow.
Geological term for the wind-blown silt deposit that forms the source material for yellow sand. Often used in scientific contexts.
See also: 黄土
Rare, literary, or archaic use referring to a sandy desert. Modern Japanese typically uses 砂漠 (さばく) for 'desert'.
See also: 砂漠
黄砂の影響で視界が悪くなっている。
Visibility is poor due to the yellow dust.
The Loess Plateau in China is one of the main sources of yellow sand.
In old poetry, 黄砂 can mean a desert.
Fine particulate matter often mentioned alongside 黄砂 in air quality reports, but 黄砂 specifically refers to natural mineral dust.
yellow sand phenomenon
Standard kanji spelling for the yellow sand phenomenon and loess.
Variant kanji spelling; 沙 is an older form of 砂. Less common but still encountered.
Compound of 黄 (yellow) and 砂 (sand). The reading こうさ is the standard Sino-Japanese on'yomi. The variant reading おうさ uses the older go-on for 黄 and is considered irregular.