If an Italian tells you non ci piove, it doesn’t mean they’re advising you to leave your umbrella at home.

Literally, this phrase means ‘it doesn’t rain’. But today’s expression in reality has nothing to do with rain, or the lack of it.

It’s an idiom that you use to emphasise you’re certain about something, meaning something along the lines of ‘There’s no doubt’, ‘That’s for sure’, or ‘It goes without saying’.

Ti pago il taxi, non ci piove.
I’ll pay for your taxi, that goes without saying.

It’s sometimes preceded by a qui (here), as in, ‘here there’s no doubt’.

È molto meglio di com’era prima della ristrutturazione, qui non ci piove.
It’s much better than it was before the renovation, that’s for sure.

But is most often used with su (on) – ‘on this/this fact there’s no doubt’.

– Sto pensando di regalare a Leo un vecchio giradischi per il suo compleanno, credo che gli piacerebbe.
– Su questo non ci piove, ama ascoltare i dischi in vinile a casa mia.
– I’m thinking of giving Leo an old record player for his birthday, I think he’d like it.
– There’s no doubt he would, he loves listening to vinyl records at my house.

Sul fatto che ti hanno truffato non ci piove.
There’s no doubting the fact that they scammed you.

What are the expression’s origins?

No one’s really sure, but some suggest it comes from the idea that your conviction is so solid that no rain could threaten to weaken it or wash it away – there’s ‘no shadow of a doubt’.

Reckon you can incorporate this simple phrase into you Italian vocabulary? We’re sure you can – non ci piove.

Do you have a favourite Italian word you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.