気圧計(きあつけい)

気圧計(きあつけい) is the standard Japanese word for a barometer — any device that measures atmospheric pressure.

Forms

• 気圧(きあつ) ("atmospheric pressure") + 計(けい) ("-meter, gauge") → 気圧計(きあつけい)
• The 〜計(けい) suffix forms many measuring-instrument names (温度計(おんどけい) "thermometer," 湿度計(しつどけい) "hygrometer," 体重計(たいじゅうけい) "bathroom scale").

Types

• 水銀気圧計(すいぎんきあつけい): mercury barometer (the classic laboratory instrument)
• アネロイド気圧計(きあつけい): aneroid barometer (the dial-and-needle type)
• デジタル気圧計(きあつけい): digital barometer (the kind built into smartwatches and weather stations)
• バロメーター: "barometer" (loanword) — sometimes used as a synonym, but more often in figurative senses (e.g., "a barometer of public opinion")

Common collocations

• 気圧計(きあつけい)が上(あ)がる / 下(さ)がる: the barometer rises / falls
• 気圧計(きあつけい)付(つ)きの腕時計(うでどけい): a wristwatch with a built-in barometer
• 気圧計(きあつけい)を見(み)る / 確認(かくにん)する: to check the barometer
• デジタル気圧計(きあつけい): digital barometer

Related words

• 気圧(きあつ): atmospheric pressure (the quantity being measured)
• 大気圧(たいきあつ): atmospheric pressure (the formal scientific term)
• バロメーター: barometer (loanword) — more often used figuratively (e.g., "社会(しゃかい)情勢(じょうせい)のバロメーター" "a barometer of social conditions") than for the physical instrument
• 高度計(こうどけい): altimeter — closely related, since aneroid altimeters work by measuring air pressure
• 湿度計(しつどけい): hygrometer (humidity gauge)
• 温度計(おんどけい): thermometer

Usage

• For the literal weather instrument, native speakers usually say 気圧計(きあつけい), not バロメーター. バロメーター shows up most often in figurative phrases like "the barometer of X."
• A modern smartwatch's pressure-and-altitude function is typically labeled 気圧計(きあつけい)・高度計(こうどけい) in Japanese product specs.