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I'm working on my Japanese homework, and we're practicing describing weather. We're given charts on temperature to say things like:

カイロは九月が一番あついです。Or, "In Cairo, September is the hottest month."

However, my book does not include how to say something like "In Cairo, June through (the end of) November are the hottest months."

I was wondering if anyone has any solutions on this.

Thanks!

Edit: Addressed a question as the specificity of the phrase in English.

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    could you use から、まで？ ６月から９月までが暑い – 無色受想行識 Mar 31 '13 at 16:42
  • I think it would be more correct in English to say "June through to November", otherwise it's ambiguous as to whether you mean the start of November or the end of November / start of December. This isn't an English learning site, but I bring it up because the Japanese is similar. With から/まで, it clarifies your start and end points. It's arguable that here isn't really a translation for "June through November", because it is a vauge and incomplete sentence. – Questioner Apr 1 '13 at 1:42
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    In the US we would say "June through November" and that meaning includes all of November. If you say "from June until/to November", I think its closer to the Japanese から、まで form, although its not specific as to what day of the month. – user3169 Apr 1 '13 at 20:43
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As mentioned から/まで is OK. That's a really basic Japanese 101-style construction that you should be familiar with at a beginner level.

As an alternative start/end point type of constuction, you can use ～から～にかけて, as in the following example from alc:

12月から2月にかけて、札幌の平均気温は氷点下です。
From December through February, the average Sapporo temperature is below freezing.

The expression にかけて refers more specifically to the span of time (or space) between the points you specify, and particularly why that span of time is interesting. You probably wouldn't say something like １２時から１時にかけてランチを食べる. A good English equivalent might be "throughout."

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  • 〜から〜にかけて is less explicit, not more. Its start/end points are approximations, not exact. – istrasci Apr 1 '13 at 15:17
  • Sorry, not sure why I was thinking it was more. – ssb Apr 1 '13 at 15:19
  • But isn't かける more about the passage/period of time as opposed to the specific start/end points? – user3169 Apr 1 '13 at 20:46
  • I'd say ～ヶ月の間 encompasses that sort of feeling more, but my intention in this answer wasn't to use the most precise language possible since the guy seems to be at a pretty low level. Technically the phrase refers to the span of time, yes, but I'm not sure I think it's incorrect to say that it's a phrase that expresses start and ending. Either way I'll edit it a little. – ssb Apr 1 '13 at 23:53

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