清明时节雨纷纷

清明時節雨紛紛

Qīngmíng shíjié yǔ fēnfēn

quotation

Meanings

1 during Qingming the rain falls thick and fast
2 used to evoke the drizzly, melancholy mood of the Tomb-Sweeping Festival

Characters

bright (清明 = Qingming Festival)

season / festival

thick and fast (reduplicated)

Examples

HSK 4

今年清明时节雨纷纷，高速上堵了好几个小时。

Jīnnián qīngmíngshíjiéyǔfēnfēn, gāosù shàng dǔ le hǎojǐ ge xiǎoshí.

This year at Qingming the rain poured down and the highway was jammed for hours.

HSK 7-9

清明时节雨纷纷，又到了扫墓祭祖的日子。

Qīngmíngshíjiéyǔfēnfēn, yòu dào le sǎomù jìzǔ de rìzi.

'Qingming - the rains fall thick and fast.' Tomb-sweeping season is upon us again.

Tips

history

The opening line of Du Mu's (杜牧) Tang poem 清明: 清明时节雨纷纷，路上行人欲断魂。 - "At Qingming the rain falls thick and fast; travelers on the road feel their souls break." One of the most-memorized Tang quatrains in China.

usage

Quoted almost reflexively every early April around the Qingming Festival (清明节), especially in news articles about traffic, weather, or tomb-sweeping customs.

Stroke Order

清 qīng

明 míng

时 shí

节 jié

雨 yǔ

纷 fēn