How to Say "Heavy Rain" in Mandarin

大雨

大雨 is the Mandarin phrase for heavy rain.

The phrase 大雨 is used to describe heavy rain.

What does it mean word for word?

大雨 is a combination of 大 (big/large) and 雨 (rain).

While 大雨 refers to heavy rain, its opposite is 小雨, which means light rain.

When you want to say 'to rain heavily' using the verb phrase 下大雨, the verb 下 (to fall/descend) is placed before 大雨 (heavy rain).

While English speakers might say it is 'raining cats and dogs', Mandarin speakers use the phrase 倾盆大雨, which literally means 'rain falling like a basin being overturned'.
In Chinese culture, heavy rain 大雨 is often associated with the 'dragon' 龙, the mythical creature believed to control the weather and bring the rain necessary for agriculture.
The character 雨 (rain) is its own radical in Chinese calligraphy. It is written as a specialized component at the top of many weather-related characters, acting as a visual category marker.

昨天下大雨。
We had a heavy rain yesterday.
This sentence is useful for mentioning that there was heavy rain yesterday.
Tatoeba #870126 by Martha, translation #244525 by CK
昨晚下大雨。
There was a heavy rain last night.
This sentence is useful for mentioning that there was heavy rain last night.
Tatoeba #896636 by Martha, translation #244848 by CK
大雨使河水泛滥。
The rivers were flooded by the heavy rain.
This sentence is useful for showing how heavy rain can cause rivers to flood.
Tatoeba #336953 by fucongcong, translation #23907 by CK
今天下了很大雨。
It rained heavily today.
暴雨过后，整个城市淹水了。
After the heavy rain, the entire city flooded.
我打伞走在大雨滂沱的街道上。
I walked under the pouring rain with an umbrella on the street.
那天下了一场倾盆大雨，我们都淋湿了。
It rained heavily that day, and we all got soaked.
4 more sentences on Tatoeba

Two friends are talking about the weather while looking out the window.

佳怡 Jiayi

外面在下大雨吗？
Wàimiàn zài xià dàyǔ ma?
Is it raining heavily outside?
浩然 Haoran

是的，大雨不停。
Shì de, dàyǔ bù tíng.
Yes, the heavy rain won't stop.
佳怡 Jiayi

那我们今天别出门了。
Nà wǒmen jīntiān bié chūmén le.
Then let's not go out today.
浩然 Haoran

好，我也觉得这样比较好。
Hǎo, wǒ yě juédé zhèyàng bǐjiào hǎo.
Okay, I think that's better too.

Sources

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