Idiomatic expressions for heavy rain in many different languages.
| Language | Idiom |
|---|---|
| Arabic | Kab Min 'Ind el Rab it's pouring from heaven |
| Afrikaans | Ou vrouens met knopkieries reen it's raining old women with knobkerries (clubs) |
| Aromanian | Vearsã cu gãleata |
| Bulgarian | Вали като из ведро
it's raining like from a bucket |
| Catalan | Està plovent a bots i barrals it's raining boats and casks |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 下傾盆大雨 [下倾盆大雨]
(xìa qīngpén dàyǔ) basin-bending big rain is falling |
| Croatian | Lije k'o iz kabla it's raining like from a bucket |
| Czech | Padají trakaře
it's raining wheelbarrows |
| Danish | Det regner skomagerdrenge it's raining shoemakers' apprenticies |
| Dutch | Het regent pijpestelen it's raining pipe stems |
| English | It's raining cats and dogs / buckets / stair rods / pitchforks / elephants & giraffes It's a frog strangler It's a frog-strangling-gully-washer It's a frog-strangling downpour it's pelting / chucking / pissing / tipping it down |
| Estonian | Sajab nagu oavarrest
it's raining like from a beanstalk |
| Finnish | Sataa kuin saavista kaataen it's pouring like from a big bucket |
| French | Il pleut des grenouilles / des cordes /
des hallebardes / des clous / à seaux / comme vache qui pisse
it's raining frogs / ropes / halberds / nails / buckets / like a pissing cow |
| Gaelic (Irish) | Tá sé ag caitheamh sceana gréasaí it's throwing cobblers knives |
| German | Es regnet/gießt Schusterjungs / junge
Hunde / in Strömen / wie aus Eimern/Kübeln
|
| German (Swiss) | Es schiffet wiä d'Sau! |
| Greek | Βρέχει καρεκλοπόδαρα
it's raining chair legs |
| Haitian Creole | Chyen ap bwe nan nen dogs are drinking in their noses |
| Hebrew | (yoréd mabúl)
יורד מבול
a flood is coming down |
| Hindi | बारिश
बहुत जोरसे
हो रही है (Bāriś bahut ho rahi hai) |
| Hungarian | Úgy esik, mintha dézsából öntenék it's raining as if it were poured from a tub |
| Icelandic | Það rignir eld og brennustein / Það er eins og hellt sé úr fötu it's raining fire and brimstone |
| Italian | Piove a catinelle
it's raining like from basins / excessively / [as if] God sends it |
| Japanese | 土砂降りである (doshaburi de aru) earth and sand are falling |
| Kannada | ಹುಛುಛಗಿ
ಪಲೆ ಬರ್ಥ ಎದೆ
(huchuchagi male bartha ede) it's raining like mad |
| Korean | 비가 억수같이 쏟아진다 rain is pouring down like a torrential downpour. |
| Latvian | Gāž kā ar spaiņiem / Līst kā pa Jāņiem it's pouring like from a bucket / it's raining like in Jāņi |
| Lithuanian | Pila kaip iš kibiro it's pouring like from a bucket |
| Macedonian | Паѓа дожд како
од крбла
(Pagja dožd kako od krbla) it's raining like from a tub. |
| Marathi | पाउस खुप
जोरात पडतोय (Pāōse khup jorāt paḍtoy) |
| Norwegian | Det regner trollkjerringer it's raining female trolls |
| Polish | Leje zabami / jak z cebra'
it's raining frogs / like from a wooden bucket |
| Portuguese | Está chovendo a cântaros / canivetes / barba de sapo / Chove como Deus a dá it's raining jugs / penknives / toads' beards / It rains like God gives it |
| Romanian | Varsă cu găleata
it's raining / pouring buckets |
| Russian | Льёт как из
ведра (Lijot kak iz vedra)
it's pouring like from a bucket |
| Serbian | Пада киша као
из кабла (Pada kiša kao iz kabla) it's raining like from a bucket |
| Slovak | Leje ako z krhly / Padajú traktory It's flowing like from a watering can / Tractors are falling |
| Slovenian | Lije kot iz škafa It is raining like pouring from the bucket |
| Spanish | Está lloviendo a cántaros /
a cubos / a chuzos / a mares / a torrentes
it's raining jugs / buckets / pikes / seas / torrents Estan lloviendo hasta maridos It's even raining husbands |
| Swedish | Det spöregnar / ösregnar / Regnet står som spön i backen
it's raining like rods / ladles / the rain stands like rods in the hillside |
| Turkish | Sicim gibi yağmur yağıyor /
Bardaktan boşanırcasına yağmur yağıyor it's raining like long strings of rope / it is raining as if it's leaving the glass |
| Ukrainian | Ллє як із відра
(Llje jak iz vidra) it's pouring like from a bucket |
| Vietnamese | Mưa thối đất thối cát, Mưa nặng hạt, Mưa lớn |
| Welsh | Mae hi'n bwrw hen wragedd a ffyn
it's raining old ladies and sticks / knives and forks |
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Copyright 1998- Simon Ager