बारिश हो रही है

Using this phrase is as easy as opening an umbrella. You can say it as a statement of fact when looking out the window. You can also turn it into a question by raising your pitch at the end: Baarish ho rahi hai? (Is it raining?). Because Hindi uses continuous tenses similar to English, this specifically refers to rain falling right at this moment. If you want to sound like a local, say it with a bit of a sigh if you're stuck indoors, or with excitement if it's the first rain of summer!

Use it whenever you see water falling from the sky. It works perfectly when texting a friend to explain why you are late. It is great for small talk with a taxi driver or a colleague in the elevator. If you are at a restaurant and see people running inside with wet hair, this is the phrase you'll hear whispered at every table. It is the ultimate icebreaker in a culture that obsesses over the weather.

Don't use this if the rain has already stopped. For that, you would need the past tense. Also, avoid using it for a tiny, barely-there mist; there are more specific words for drizzling. If it is a massive, life-altering monsoon storm, just saying baarish ho rahi hai might feel a bit like an understatement. It's like saying 'it's a bit breezy' during a hurricane. Use it for standard, honest-to-goodness rain.

In India, rain is a big deal. After months of scorching heat, the first rain (Monsoon) is celebrated like a festival. People don't just stay inside; they go out to get drenched! This phrase often carries a sense of relief or joy. It is also the soundtrack to eating pakoras and drinking chai. When someone says this phrase in July, they aren't just talking about weather; they are talking about a mood, a craving for snacks, and a break from the heat.

If it's pouring really hard, you might say Bahut tez baarish ho rahi hai (It is raining very fast/hard). If you want to be more poetic, you might use the word barkha, though that's mostly for songs and movies. In Mumbai, you'll often hear paoos, which is the Marathi word, but baarish remains the king of Hindi conversation. You might also hear boonda-baandi, which specifically means it's just drizzling or spotting.