IdiomNature
Dutch
DutchHet regent pijpenstelen
Meaning: It is raining very heavily.
Literally: It's raining pipe stems
Example: “Neem een paraplu mee, het regent pijpenstelen.” — Take an umbrella; it's raining cats and dogs.
English equivalent: It's raining cats and dogs
Origin: The pijpensteel is the stem of a tobacco pipe: according to the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, cited by Onze Taal, the long, straight, thin stem of a clay pipe such as the Gouda pipe. Rain that comes down in long thin streaks looks like a shower of pipe stems. Dutch has many other pictures for a downpour, from het regent oude wijven (it's raining old women) to het regent bakstenen (it's raining bricks).
Equivalents in other languages
English: It's raining cats and dogs
French: Il pleut comme vache qui pisse Literally: It rains like a cow that pisses- French: Tomber des hallebardes Literally: To rain halberds
More Dutch idioms
- Iets met de Franse slag doen To do it carelessly and half-heartedly.
- De kat uit de boom kijken To wait cautiously before committing.
- Iets voor zoete koek aannemen To swallow a story uncritically.
- Met de gebakken peren zitten To be stuck with the unpleasant aftermath.
- De koe bij de horens vatten To tackle a problem head-on.
- Een appeltje voor de dorst Savings put by for hard times.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Liesje leerde Lotje lopen langs de lange Lindelaan. Eight consecutive l-words, with the vowel behind the l changing every time.
- De kat krabt de krullen van de trap. A 'kr' cluster drill — Dutch consonant pileups that beginners approach with dread.
- Als vliegen achter vliegen vliegen, vliegen vliegen vliegen achterna. The same noun/verb homograph trap as the German version — vliegen does triple duty.
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