Llover is the verb ‘to rain’ in Spanish, and lluvia is the noun ‘rain’.

Even though rain may not be as common as in other European countries, there’s certainly a whole host of expressions to do with precipitation. 

READ MORE: Ten phrases to talk about cold and wet weather like a true Spaniard

But one expression which is used in Spain often and which we haven’t covered yet is llueve sobre mojado. 

Its literal meaning is ‘it rains on what’s already wet’, in the sense of it’s raining where it’s already been raining. 

You’ll often hear Spanish meteorologists say it when talking about ongoing bad or rainy weather. 

However, it has another more common metaphorical use. 

This is to imply that when one bad thing happens, others tend to follow it. 

In that sense it’s a bit like saying ‘when it rains it pours’ in English.

However, it can also be used to say that a bad situation hasn’t changed, it continues to be difficult, it’s more of the same, it’s one thing after another. 

Popular Spanish singer-songwriter Joaquín Sabina has a famous song called Llueve sobre mojado, which goes:

Hay una lágrima en el fondo del río (There’s a teardrop at the bottom of the river)

De los desperados (of the desperate ones)

Adán y Eva no se adaptan al frío (Adam and Eve don’t get used to the cold)

Llueve sobre mojado (It’s one thing after another)

Interestingly, Spanish has other expressions to do with water which are used to describe tough situations.

For example, there’s la gota que colmó el vaso, which is like ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’ but translates literally as ‘the drop which filled the glass to the brim’.

There’s also estar con el agua al cuello (to be in dire straits or literally ‘with water up to your neck).

Example:

¿Han mejorado las cosas? – Have things improved?

¡Qué va! Llueve sobre mojado – Not at all! More of the same. 

Paco no levanta cabeza. Llueve sobre mojado. 

Paco can’t catch a break. It one thing after another. 

READ ALSO: Ten very useful Spanish expressions with the word ‘water’