Ama-mori

Ama-mori is a native Japanese word, a compound consisting of ame 'rain' (here modified to ama) and mori, from the verb moru meaning 'to leak'. The meaning is 'a leak' of the kind that occurs in a building or shelter when it rains.

Ama-mori is written in Chinese characters. This is how it is written in this temporary sign at a railway station:

Zu-jō ama-mori chūi Be careful of leaking overhead

At another station, mori had been simplified to hiragana as , another example of a native Japanese verb being written in hiragana in preference to kanji. One reason for this is the relative complexity of the character . This is the sort of character that people readily recognise but may occasionally be unable to recall if they have to write it on the spur of the moment.

Ama-mori no tame, go-meiwaku o-kake itashimasu Ekichō We apologise for the inconvenience caused by leaking. Station master

A Google search in September 2003 revealed the following pattern for ama-mori:

Form	No. of occurrences
	53,000
	2,530
	505
	79
	1

Note that the preferred usage is kanji first (), followed by kanji or hiragana ( or ). This top-heavy arrangement is preferred. The opposite arrangement, the bottom-heavy , is virtually non-existent. See also Akasuri.