下雨
to rain
xià yǔ
What does 下雨 mean?
下雨 (xià yǔ) means 'to rain' — literally 'descend rain.' It's a verb-object compound, which is unusual to English speakers: in Chinese, weather verbs typically combine a directional verb (下 'come down') with a weather noun (雨 'rain'), giving 下雨 'rain,' 下雪 (xià xuě) 'snow,' and 下雾 (xià wù) 'fog.' Two grammar notes: first, because 下雨 already contains a noun, you don't add another object — to say 'it's raining' you say 下雨了 (xià yǔ le), and to say 'rain heavily' you split the compound: 雨下得很大 (yǔ xià de hěn dà), not 下雨得很大; second, the subject is usually omitted (Chinese doesn't need an 'it' for weather), so the most natural way to report rain outside is just 下雨了.
Character breakdown
down; to descend; to fall (from above)
rain (pictograph of raindrops under a cloud)
Memory hook: 'Down + rain' — rain is something that comes down. Same logic gives you 下雪 (down + snow = to snow).
Example sentences
下雨了，快回家。
Xià yǔ le, kuài huí jiā.
It's raining — hurry home.
spoken
今天下雨，我不去。
Jīntiān xià yǔ, wǒ bú qù.
It's raining today, I won't go.
spoken
外面在下大雨。
Wàimiàn zài xià dà yǔ.
It's raining heavily outside.
neutral
明天会下雨吗？
Míngtiān huì xià yǔ ma?
Will it rain tomorrow?
spoken
Common phrases with 下雨
Synonyms
Same verb-object pattern. 下雨 is 'to rain'; 下雪 is 'to snow.' Mention them together to learn the pattern: 下雾 (fog), 下冰雹 (hail) all follow it.
Don't confuse 下雨 with
雨 alone is the noun 'rain.' You need 下 in front to make the verb 'to rain.' 雨很大 = 'the rain is heavy'; 下雨了 = 'it's raining.'
下 by itself means 'down / below / to descend.' It builds many weather and movement verbs: 下楼 (go downstairs), 下班 (get off work), 下雨, 下雪. Don't read it as 'rain' on its own.