lloviendo
/ʝobjendo/from spelling rules
lloviendo is the Spanish present participle for "raining," used to describe water falling from the clouds as rain.
While lloviendo describes the action, the noun for the substance itself is lluvia.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, you might hear Está cayendo un aguacero to describe a heavy downpour. In Spain, the term Está diluviando is used to describe torrential rainfall.
How does it change in a sentence?
As a present participle, lloviendo cannot function as the main verb of a sentence on its own. It requires an auxiliary verb like estar to form a continuous tense.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʝobjendo/
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking regions, you might hear people say está lloviendo a cántaros to describe a heavy rain. This phrase literally translates to 'it is raining in pitchers', implying that water is being poured out of large containers.
- The 'll' in lloviendo is pronounced differently across the world. In most places it sounds like a 'y', but in parts of Argentina and Uruguay, it is pronounced as a 'sh' sound.
- In Spanish, the verb llover is 'impersonal', meaning it is almost always used in the third person singular. You cannot say 'I am raining' or 'we are raining' using lloviendo.
Examples in context
- ¡Mira afuera! Está lloviendo a mares.Look outside! It's pouring rain.
- Parece que está lloviendo mucho.It looks like it is raining a lot.
- No quiero salir si sigue lloviendo.I don't want to go out if it keeps raining.
Example conversation
Alejandro and Elena are looking out the window.
- AlejandroElena, mira, está lloviendo.Elena, look, it is raining.
- ElenaTienes razón, Alejandro.You are right, Alejandro.
- AlejandroNo podemos salir ahora.We cannot go out now.
- ElenaSí, es mejor esperar.Yes, it is better to wait.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
