chuva
/ˈʃu.vɐ/feminine
The English word rain is chuva in Portuguese.
chuva is the standard and most common word for an instance of particles falling. If you want to describe light rain or a drizzle, use chuvisco. For technical contexts such as scientific discussions or weather forecasts, the word precipitação is used.
Meaning: an instance of particles falling (noun)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In parts of northeastern Brazil, particularly Bahia, the word aguaceiro is used to refer to a heavy rain or downpour.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun chuva is feminine. This means that any accompanying articles or adjectives must also be feminine, such as a chuva (the rain) or chuva forte (heavy rain). The related verb for the action of raining is chover, which can also mean to fall in large quantities.
How do you pronounce it?
chuva is pronounced /ˈʃu.vɐ/. It has 2 syllables, and the stress is on the 1st syllable.
Did you know?
- In many Portuguese-speaking cultures, if someone says it is chovendo canivetes, they aren't talking about knives, but mean it is raining extremely heavily.
- While chuva refers to the rain itself, Portuguese has the specific word garoa to describe a very fine, persistent mist, most famously associated with the city of São Paulo, known as the 'city of drizzle'.
- The Portuguese word chuva is a distant cousin to the English word 'pluvial', which relates to rain or rainfall.
Examples in context
- Tem cara de chuva.It looks like rain.This sentence is useful for saying it looks like rain using chuva.Tatoeba #5471718 by ToinhoAlam, translation #26783 by blay_paul
- É escuro na chuva?In the rain, is it dark?This sentence is useful for asking if it is dark in the rain using chuva.Tatoeba #6473964 by heo598, translation #1395975 by NamaeNoSaikuru
- Tom saiu na chuva.Tom went out in the rain.This sentence is useful for describing someone going out in the rain using chuva.Tatoeba #12226315 by Advanced, translation #3410838 by CK
- Hoje, tivemos uma forte chuva.Today we had a heavy rain.
- O chuvisco começou a cair bem devagar.The drizzle started to fall very slowly.
- Vamos esperar a chuva passar antes de sair.Let's wait for the rain to stop before going out.
- Ontem, deu um aguaceiro enorme!Yesterday, there was a huge downpour!
- 282 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mariana and Gabriel are deciding whether to go for a walk.
- MarianaA chuva está muito forte.The rain is very heavy.
- GabrielÉ verdade, Mariana.That is true, Mariana.
- MarianaNão vamos caminhar agora.Let's not walk now.
- GabrielMelhor esperar o tempo melhorar.It is better to wait for the weather to improve.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “rain” translations and entries chuva, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries chuva, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
