Translation guide
A downpour is a sudden, heavy rain. In Japanese, the most common and natural way to express this is 土砂降り (どしゃぶり). Other expressions exist for varying intensities and contexts, from casual to literary.
Describing a sudden, intense rainfall, like a cloudburst.
The most common and natural word for a downpour. It implies very heavy rain, often sudden. Can be used as a noun or with する to mean 'it's pouring'.
突然の土砂降りで、ずぶ濡れになった。
I got soaked in the sudden downpour.
外は土砂降りだ。
It's pouring outside.
Literally 'big rain'. A general term for heavy rain, but less vivid than 土砂降り. Commonly used in weather forecasts.
今夜は大雨になるでしょう。
There will be heavy rain tonight.
Torrential rain, often used in news reports for severe rain causing disasters. More formal than 土砂降り.
豪雨のため、電車が止まった。
The trains stopped due to torrential rain.
Alternate kanji/kana spelling of 土砂降り. Same meaning and usage.
どしゃ降りの中を歩いた。
I walked in the downpour.
Emphasizing the sudden onset and possibly short duration of heavy rain.
A sudden evening shower, common in summer. Often implies a downpour that starts and stops quickly.
夕立が来そうだから、傘を持って行こう。
It looks like an evening shower is coming, so let's take an umbrella.
A sudden shower or rainstorm. Can be heavy but not necessarily as intense as 土砂降り.
Describing the visual intensity of rain, as if it's a solid wall of water.
Literally 'rain like a waterfall'. A vivid simile for a downpour.
滝のような雨で前が見えない。
I can't see ahead because of the rain coming down in sheets.
Idiomatic expression: 'rain as if buckets are being overturned'. Very common and natural.
バケツをひっくり返したような雨だね。
It's raining buckets, isn't it?
Using verbs to describe the rain falling heavily.
Standard phrase: 'rain falls violently/heavily'. Can be used in any context.
雨が激しく降っている。
It's raining heavily.
Onomatopoeic expression for heavy rain. Very casual and vivid.
雨がざあざあ降ってるよ。
It's pouring rain!
土砂降り is the most colloquial and vivid for a sudden, intense downpour. 大雨 is a general term for heavy rain, often used in forecasts. 豪雨 is more formal and used for severe, often disaster-level rain.
The English word 'downpour' is a noun, but in Japanese it's often more natural to use a verb phrase like 土砂降りだ or 激しく降っている rather than a direct noun equivalent in every context.
土砂降りにあった。
I got caught in a downpour.
豪雨で洪水が起きた。
The downpour caused flooding.
にわか雨で試合が中断した。
The game was interrupted by a sudden shower.