Read this phrase in a blog. I think the basic meaning of the phrase 雨よ雪に変わってくれ is "The rain is changing into snow." But I don't understand the usage of よ in this case. Is it a particle? Or is it a typo?
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See also: How to invoke God/spirits in Japanese.– senshinCommented Dec 22, 2013 at 3:28
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Related: japanese.stackexchange.com/a/12401/78– istrasciCommented Dec 22, 2013 at 4:47
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You are talking to the rain. The よ is NOT a typo.– user4032Commented Dec 23, 2013 at 8:36
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I always see it in the phrase 「友よ」. Great question, I wondered this myself.– JeshizaemonCommented Sep 21, 2017 at 16:38
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1 Answer
It's a vocative particle, like the English vocative "O" in the following example:
O Rain! Please change into snow!
It sounds poetic or literary.
It's defined as 係助詞「よ」 in 集英社国語辞典:
係助詞。相手への呼びかけ。「泣くな妹よ、妹よ泣くな」「風よ伝えよ、かの人に」「モズよ、寒いと鳴くでねえ」
I bolded the meaning, which is basically vocative.