下雨
/ɕi̯ä⁵¹ y²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
The Chinese phrase for 'raining' is 下雨.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase consists of the verb 下 (xià), meaning 'to descend' or 'to go down' and the noun 雨 (yǔ), meaning 'rain'.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɕi̯ä⁵¹ y²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Be careful with the particle 了 (le) at the end of the phrase. Adding 了 (le) to 下雨 changes the meaning from 'it is raining' to 'it has started raining'.
Did you know?
- If you want to describe a heavy downpour, you might use the idiom 倾盆大雨, which describes rain falling like a 'tipped basin of water'.
- The character 雨 (yǔ) is a pictograph that originally depicted a cloud with drops falling from it, a visual representation used in ancient oracle bone script.
- You can describe a fine, misty rain using the word 毛毛雨, which literally means 'hair-hair rain' to imply something very small and soft.
Examples in context
- 總是在下雨。It is raining all the time.Tatoeba #3713730 by egg0073, translation #26710 by CK
- 刚开始下雨。It began raining just now.Tatoeba #9956367 by GlossaMatik, translation #40824 by timmartin
- 今天不下雨。It's not raining today.Tatoeba #10534880 by xjjAstrus, translation #13187592 by atitarev
- 今天下雨了，记得带伞。It's raining today, remember to bring an umbrella.
- 昨晚的降雨量很大。There was heavy rainfall last night.
- 看外面，下雨了。Look outside, it's raining.
- 今天有雨，记得带雨伞。It will rain today, remember to bring an umbrella.
- 快看，外面下雨啦！Come take a look, it's raining outside!
- 64 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking through a window while looking at the street.
- 俊杰 Junjie外面在下雨吗？Wàimiàn zài xiàyǔ ma?Is it raining outside?
- 佳怡 Jiayi是的，正在下雨。Shì de, zhèngzài xiàyǔ.Yes, it is raining.
- 俊杰 Junjie那我们不出去了。Nà wǒmen bù chūqù le.Then we won't go out.
- 佳怡 Jiayi好，那我们留在家里吧。Hǎo, nà wǒmen liú zài jiālǐ ba.Okay, let's stay at home then.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 下雨, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
