¿Por qué no llueve ahora?
Why isn't it raining now?
When it pours, Spanish needs just one word, llueve, and it works as a full sentence with no subject.
From Los guerreros · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "rain" in Spanish
llover
verbit rains: lluevenoun: la lluviao changes to ue
"To rain" in Spanish is llover, and the form you'll say most is llueve: it rains, or it's raining. The rain itself is the noun la lluvia. Llueve needs no subject, so Llueve mucho is a full sentence on its own.
Hear "llueve" in a real movie scene
One scene where someone says it. The video starts and stops on that line.
Rain words: llover, llueve, lluvia
One verb, a few of its forms, and the noun.
| Spanish | English | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| llover | to rain | The dictionary form. You hear it after other verbs: Va a llover. |
| llueve | it rains, it's raining | The form you say most. The o of llover becomes ue. |
| está lloviendo | it's raining right now | Use it to stress that the rain is falling at this moment. |
| llovió | it rained | Past tense: Ayer llovió mucho. |
| la lluvia | the rain | The noun is feminine: bajo la lluvia, in the rain. |
| llover a cántaros | to pour | Like "raining cats and dogs": Llueve a cántaros. |
Tip: Many weather phrases use hace (hace frío, hace calor), but rain doesn't. Just say llueve.
Grammar: llover, llueve
Four points that cover almost every rainy day.
No subject
Llueve. It's raining. Spanish has no word for this "it", and you don't name the rain either.o becomes ue
When the stress falls on it, the o changes: llueve (it rains). Elsewhere it stays: llovió (it rained), va a llover (it's going to rain).How much: mucho, poco
Put the amount after the verb. It never changes: Llueve mucho. Llueve poco. No llueve.The noun: la lluvia
La lluvia is feminine. Me gusta la lluvia. I like the rain.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Llueve por la tarde.
It rains in the afternoon.
Hoy llueve y hay mucho tráfico.
It's raining today, and there's a lot of traffic.
Cuando llueve, mucha gente entristece.
When it rains, a lot of people get sad.
Aún llueve.
It's still raining.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗Hace lluvia
✓Llueve
Hace goes with frío, calor and sol. Rain has its own verb.
✗Llove mucho
✓Llueve mucho
When the stress falls on it, the o of llover becomes ue.
✗Es lloviendo
✓Está lloviendo
The -iendo form goes with estar, never with ser.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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How to remember it
The double ll at the start of llueve and lluvia looks like two streaks of rain running down a window.
Questions about "rain" in Spanish
How do you say rain in Spanish?
The verb "to rain" is llover, and "it rains" or "it's raining" is llueve. The rain itself is la lluvia.
How do you say "it's raining" in Spanish?
Llueve or está lloviendo. Both work for rain right now, and está lloviendo puts more weight on this moment.
How do you say "it's going to rain" in Spanish?
Va a llover. After va a, use the dictionary form, llover.
Is lluvia masculine or feminine?
Feminine: la lluvia, las lluvias. An adjective after it ends in -a: una lluvia fuerte (heavy rain).
