瓢泼大雨 (piáo pō dà yǔ) — (idiom) torrential rain, downpour

Definition

An idiomatic, vivid image for a torrential downpour — literally 'rain poured from a ladle'. Use it for dramatic, extreme rainfall, not light showers.

idiom

torrential raindownpour

瓢泼大雨，。
Wài miàn xià zhe piáo pō dà yǔ, wǒ men zhǐ néng dāi zài jiā lǐ.
It's pouring outside, so we can only stay home.
瓢泼大雨。
Zhè chǎng piáo pō dà yǔ bǎ lù dōu yān le.
This torrential rain flooded all the roads.
瓢泼大雨，。
Suī rán xià zhe piáo pō dà yǔ, tā hái shì jiān chí qù shàng bān.
Even though it was pouring, he still insisted on going to work.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 潑; 泼 is its simplified writing.

氵發潑

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵氵shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

發

發fā潑pō

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 潑 uses 氵 for water and 發 to suggest the pronunciation; the simplified 泼 is a later shorthand.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 雨 is an old picture of a cloud with rain drops falling from it; the top line was added later.