misfortunes never come singly; when it rains it pours
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesidiom
misfortunes never come singly; when it rains it pours
literaryUsed to express that bad luck or unfortunate events tend to occur in succession rather than alone. Often used as a commiseration or observation about a string of bad luck.
Zhēn真
shì是
huò祸
bù不
dān单
xíng行
，
tā他
gāng刚
diū丢
le了
gōng工
zuò作
，
nǚ女
péng朋
yǒu友
yòu又
gēn跟
tā他
fēn分
shǒu手
le了
。
It never rains but it pours—he just lost his job, and then his girlfriend broke up with him.
Jīn今
nián年
zhēn真
shì是
huò祸
bù不
dān单
xíng行
，
xiān先
shì是
jiā家
lǐ里
yǒu有
rén人
shēng生
bìng病
，
rán然
hòu后
chē车
zi子
yòu又
huài坏
le了
。
This year has been one disaster after another—first someone in the family got sick, then the car broke down.
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Huò祸
bù不
dān单
xíng行
，
huài坏
xiāo消
xī息
jiē一
yī个
gè接
yī一
gè个
dì地
chuán传
lái来
。
Misfortunes never come singly; bad news came one after another.