🌧️
Cloud With Rain
klaʊd wɪð reɪn
Definitions
1
Weather · Natural Phenomenon
Common
Represents rain falling from a cloud, indicating rainy weather conditions or precipitation. Used to convey current or forecasted rain.
Commonly used in weather discussions, to express disappointment about plans affected by rain, or to describe mood.
Looks like I'll need my umbrella today 🌧️
Text message about weather forecast
Our picnic got canceled because of the 🌧️
Social media post
Often carries negative connotations in Western cultures, associated with gloominess, while viewed more positively in agricultural contexts or drought-prone regions.
2
Emotional · Metaphorical
Common
Metaphorically represents sadness, gloominess, or emotional distress. Used to convey feeling down or a negative emotional state.
Often used in emotional contexts to symbolize tears, sadness, or a gloomy mood.
Just got the test results. Not what I hoped for 🌧️
Personal message about disappointment
The association between rain and sadness is particularly strong in Western pop culture, reinforced through music, literature, and film.
Evolution Timeline
2015
Added to Unicode 7.0 as a weather indicator emoji, initially with minimal emotional connotations.
Growing demand for weather-related emoji for practical communication
2018
Increasingly adopted as a metaphor for sadness in emotional contexts, particularly on Twitter and Instagram.
Evolution of visual metaphors in digital emotional expression
Cultural Context
Rain metaphors vary significantly across cultures, influencing emoji usage. Western cultures often associate rain with sadness, while agricultural societies may view it more positively.
The emoji's emotional tone often reflects regional climate realities. In drought-prone regions, it carries positive connotations of relief and prosperity.
In the UK, the rain emoji is sometimes used with ironic affection, reflecting the British cultural relationship with persistent rainfall as part of national identity.
Regional Variations
United Kingdom
More frequently used in the UK due to the cultural significance of rain in British daily life and humor.
India
Used celebratorily during monsoon season, especially in drought-prone regions, contrasting with Western negative associations.
Generational Usage
Gen_X: Primarily used in practical weather contexts, occasionally for expressing disappointment about outdoor events.
Gen_Z: Often used metaphorically for emotional states. Frequently paired with other emojis in TikTok and Instagram to create emotional narratives.
Older: Mainly used literally to discuss actual weather conditions, rarely for emotional expression.
Millennials: Used both literally for weather and metaphorically for mood, especially in Instagram captions and Twitter posts about canceled plans.
Common Combinations
🌧️☂️
Rainy weather requiring an umbrella, or being prepared for rain.
Practical weather communication, often used in daily conversations about weather preparedness.
🌧️😢
Sadness or disappointment due to rain or using rain as a metaphor for tears/sadness.
Expresses disappointment about outdoor plans affected by rain or general emotional distress.
🌧️🌈
Hope after hardship, or actual weather condition of rain followed by sunshine.
References the idiom 'after rain comes the rainbow,' symbolizing hope after difficult times.