# It's forecasted to rain today.



## yuechu

大家好！

I was wondering how to say "It is forecasted to rain today". Would anyone know how to say this in Chinese?
For example: 预报说今天要下雨 (Feel free to completely change this as I guess it is probably not correct...)
Thanks!


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## SimonTsai

氣象預報說今天會下雨。


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## yuechu

Thanks, SimonTsai!  Would that sentence work if the forecast were written in a newspaper or online? (or only if it were heard on the radio, tv, etc.?)


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## SimonTsai

Yes, it would.


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## yuechu

Oh ok. Thanks!



SimonTsai said:


> 氣象預報說今天會下雨。


Is 要 then always used for people, not for things?


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## SimonTsai

天陰陰的，好像快 (要) 下雨了。


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## albert_laosong

yuechu said:


> 预报说今天要下雨 (Feel free to completely change this as I guess it is probably not correct...)
> Thanks!


预报说今天要下雨，it's exactly what I would say.  It doesn't matter where you see or hear the forecast. 
no need to change "要” to "会”, actually I think in this context 要 may be more common.


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## thetazuo

albert_laosong said:


> 预报说今天要下雨，it's exactly what I would say.  It doesn't matter where you see or hear the forecast.
> no need to change "要” to "会”, actually I think in this context 要 may be more common.


I agree with albert_laosong. I think 要 and 会 are interchangeable in this case. Maybe in Taiwan 要 and 会 are used in a slightly different way from Mandarin?


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## nosaijin

thetazuo said:


> Maybe in Taiwan 要 and 会 are used in a slightly different way from Mandarin?


I agree with you, thetazuo.  天氣預報說明天*要*下雨 sounds quite awkward to me, but 天氣預報說明天開始*要*下雨了 would be okay.


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## SimonTsai

I am not a linguist and I may be wrong. I would say that the auxiliary '要' implies a higher degree of certainty than '會' does, which makes the original sentence sound odd to me. (With '要', it sounds as if the forecaster had decided that it would have rained today, while few of us have the ability.)


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## Delighto

or we can say 天气预报说今日有雨 
this is more suitable for written situations.


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## SuperXW

nosaijin said:


> but 天氣預報說明天開始*要*下雨了 would be okay.


Doesn't that mean it will start raining from tomorrow (and may last for days)?
I think it is quite different to the original one.


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## nosaijin

SuperXW said:


> Doesn't that mean it will start raining from tomorrow (and may last for days)?
> I think it is quite different to the original one.


You are right, but I didn't say it carries the same meaning as the original one does.
I just tried to demonstrate how we  may use "要" and "會" in this context in Taiwan.


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## Skatinginbc

必然或極可能發生 (從發生機率的角度來說)： 
氣象臺預測：「明天會下雨。」  
算命先生預測：「你明天會有血光之災。」

即將 (從時間相關性的角度來說)：
孕婦:「孩子要出生了。」
農夫: 「天要下雨了。天氣預報說明天(終於)要下雨了。」


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## SimonTsai

What would you say about the sentence below?

我等一下要到市場，會經過賣滷味的。要幫你買甚麼？

I am almost certain that I am wrong to think that '要' implies greater probability, but am still unsure of what makes '會' preferable in the original context. What gives me the impression that with '要', the forecaster would sound as if he were able to manipulate the weather? (I think that I had the feeling that one implies greater probability than the other because in the context of weather forecasting, the further we forecast, the higher degree of uncertainty we will be faced with.)


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## Skatinginbc

(1) Volition or necessity: 我等一下要去...要經過...==> 講的是要不要去, 要不要經過...打算要 (intended future action)...需要....  
(2) Epistemic possibility: 我等一下會去...會經過...==> 講的是發生的可能性(possibility): 會不會去?  會不會經過?


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## SimonTsai

Thank you for your explanation, which makes it clear why with '要', it might sound as if '下雨' were a decision by the forecaster or someone else. '要' can be about volition, which I failed to think of.

I am really sorry, @yuechu, for possibly having misled you. I wish that I could remove the incorrect part, or insert a corrective note into post 10, but I am not allowed to. Maybe I should quit for a while. (I noticed that lately, I have made several mistakes in my posts, which I meant to help. I am the last one to be willing to deliver misinformation.)


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## yuechu

@SimonTsai No need to apologize! I appreciate your and everyone's help! 
Thank you! 谢谢大家！


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