Italian Word of the Day: Piovere (to rain)

Here in Wales, where we live, it rains quite a lot, as you can imagine. But since today is a rare sunny day, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to dive into the ever-relevant Italian verb piovere (to rain)!

/piò·ve·re/ – [ˈpjɔvere]
Italian word "piovere"

Piovere is an -ERE verb that is only ever conjugated in the third person singular (piove), and occasionally in the third person plural (piovono) as we’ll discover further below.



Piovere is an example of what is known as an impersonal verb—meaning it lacks a specific subject. These verbs are commonly used to describe weather conditions. Other examples, besides piovere, include nevicare (to snow), grandinare (to hail), and diluviare (to pour).

If you want to say that it’s raining at this very moment, you can simply use piove, or opt for the continuous form sta piovendo (it is raining).


Strictly speaking, impersonal verbs like piovere are supposed to take essere (to be) as their auxiliary. However, in recent years, it is becoming increasingly acceptable to use avere (to have) instead. This means that you are likely to hear all of the following forms:

  • è piovuto / ha piovuto = it rained
  • sarà piovuto / avrà piovuto = it will have rained
  • sarebbe piovuto / avrebbe piovuto = it would have rained

There are lots of different ways to describe the intensity of la pioggia (the rain) as you can see below:

  • piove a dirotto = it’s pouring
  • piove come Dio la manda = it rains cats and dogs
  • piove a catinelle = it’s pouring

Sometimes, piovere can be used to describe things falling from the sky other than rain, such as leaves. It can also be used figuratively to describe something that arrives suddenly or unexpectedly, and in large quantities—like problems, gifts, letters, and more.


woman standing in the rain with an umbrella

Idiomatic expressions using ‘piovere’

Piove sul bagnato

Literal translation: it rains on the wet
English meaning: when it rains, it pours

Non ci piove!

Literal translation: It doesn’t rain on it!
English meaning: Without a doubt!

Piovere dal cielo

Literal translation: To rain from the sky
English meaning: Someone or something that arrives unexpectedly

Piove, governo ladro!

Literal translation: It’s raining, thieving government!
English meaning: The expression pokes fun at the typically Italian tendency to blame the government for everything—even a natural event like the rain.


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