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天要下雨，娘要嫁人

tiān yào xià yǔ , niáng yào jià réndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(lit.) the heavens will rain, and widowed mothers will remarry (saying) / (fig.) some things are inevitable
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-60979f309594907e. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

天要下雨，娘要嫁人 天要下雨，娘要嫁人 [tian1 yao4 xia4 yu3 , niang2 yao4 jia4 ren2] /(lit.) the heavens will rain, and widowed mothers will remarry (saying)/(fig.) some things are inevitable/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

  • 天
    tiān

    day / sky / heaven

  • 要
    yāo

    (bound form) to demand / to coerce

    yào

    to want / to need / to ask for / will / shall / about to / need to / should / if (same as 要是[yào shi]) / (bound form) important

  • 下
    xià

    down / downwards / below / lower / later / next (week etc) / second (of two parts) / to decline / to go down / to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc) / measure word to show the frequency of an action

  • 雨
    yù

    (literary) to rain / (of rain, snow etc) to fall / to precipitate / to wet

  • 娘
    niáng

    mother / young lady / (coll.) effeminate

  • 要
    yāo

    (bound form) to demand / to coerce

    yào

    to want / to need / to ask for / will / shall / about to / need to / should / if (same as 要是[yào shi]) / (bound form) important

  • 嫁
    jià

    (of a woman) to marry / to marry off a daughter / to shift (blame etc)

  • 人

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.