Learn Hardcore Chinese: jīntiān yòu xiàyǔ le, wǒ bù xiǎng chūqù. - It’s raining again today; I don’t want to go out.

今天下雨了 = “It rained today / it’s raining today” (just a fact).
今天又下雨了 = “It’s raining again today” (it rained before on another day or earlier, and now it’s happening again).

In conversation, 又 often carries a feeling of mild annoyance or frustration:

今天又下雨了 often implies “Ugh, it’s raining again (like before).”

So 又 tells us this is a repeated situation, not the first time.

What’s the difference between 又 and 再? Could I say 今天再下雨了 instead?

又 and 再 both relate to “again,” but they are used differently:

又 is usually for:
- Actions/events that have already happened again, or
- Things that are happening again right now.
再 is usually for:
- Actions that will happen again in the future, often with a suggestion, plan, or hope.

Typical patterns:

Past / present: 又 + verb
- 他昨天又迟到了。 – “He was late again yesterday.”
Future / intended: 再 + verb
- 明天再说。 – “Let’s talk about it tomorrow (again / later).”

In this sentence:

今天又下雨了 is natural and correct: “It’s raining again today.”
今天再下雨了 is usually not natural. It might only appear in special conditional structures, e.g.:
- 今天再下雨的话，我就不出门了。
  “If it rains again today, then I won’t go out.”

But as a simple statement “It’s raining again today,” you should use 又, not 再.

Does 了 in 下雨了 mean past tense? What exactly is it doing here?

了 does not mark past tense the way English “-ed” does. Here it marks a change of situation / new state.

Compare:

今天下雨。
A general or habitual statement like “It (often) rains today” (not natural alone in most contexts).
今天下雨了。
“It (has started to) rain today.” There is a shift: earlier it was not raining; now the situation is “raining.”

So in 今天又下雨了:

又 = again
下雨了 = “(has) started to rain / is raining now (change from not raining before)”

了 here is a change-of-state marker, not simply “past tense.”

Why is 了 right after 下雨 and not at the very end of the whole sentence? Could I say 今天又下雨，我不想出了去 or something like that?

In the sentence:

今天又下雨了，我不想出去。

了 belongs to the first clause: 今天又下雨了.
It marks the change of weather (it has started raining / it is now in a “raining” state).

The second clause 我不想出去 expresses your reaction to that situation and doesn’t need 了.

You could, however, also say:

今天又下雨了，我不想出去了。

Now there are two changes of state:

It has started raining again. (下雨了)
Your state/decision has changed to “(now) I don’t want to go out anymore.” (出去了)

So:

下雨了: change of the weather.
出去了 (in this context): change of your plan or attitude about going out.

But your original sentence without the second 了 is fully correct; it just presents your lack of desire (“I don’t want to go out”) as a simple fact, not necessarily a newly changed decision.

Could I also say 今天又在下雨? What’s the difference between 下雨了 and 在下雨?

Yes, you can say 今天又在下雨. Here’s the nuance:

下雨了: emphasizes that it has started to rain / it is now in the state of raining, with a sense of change from “not raining” to “raining.”
在下雨: uses 在 to show a progressive action – it’s raining right now.

So:

今天又下雨了 – “It’s raining again today (it wasn’t raining before, now it is).”
今天又在下雨 – “It is raining again today (is in the process of raining again).”

In everyday speech, both are acceptable, and people often prefer 下雨了 because the “change of state” is very natural when talking about weather starting again.

Why do we use 不想 instead of 没想 here? What’s the difference between 不 and 没 with 想?

不 and 没 are different kinds of negation:

不 negates:
- Present, future, habitual actions
- Willingness / intention / preference
没 negates:
- Completed actions (like “didn’t”)
- Existence / possession (like “don’t have” = 没有)

With 想:

想 = “to want / feel like (doing something)”
- 我不想出去。 = “I don’t want to go out.” (no desire / no intention)
- Using 没想出去 would sound like:
  - “I didn’t think about going out” or “I hadn’t planned to go out” (very different meaning).
想 = “to think / to consider”
- 我没想过这个问题。 = “I’ve never thought about this question.”

In your sentence, 想 clearly means “want,” so the correct negation is 不想, not 没想.

What’s the difference between 想 and 要 here? Could I say 我不要出去 instead of 我不想出去?

想 and 要 both relate to “want,” but their usage and tone differ:

想 (in this meaning) = “to want / would like / feel like”
- Softer, more about inner desire or inclination.
- 我不想出去。 = “I don’t feel like going out / I don’t want to go out.”
要 = “to want / to need / to be going to (intend to)”
- Often stronger, more decisive or demanding.
- 我要出去。 = “I’m going to go out / I want to go out.”

不要 has two common uses:

As a statement about your own will:
- 我不要这个。 – “I don’t want this.”
Very commonly as an imperative “Don’t …”:
- 不要出去！ – “Don’t go out!”

So 我不要出去 is grammatically possible, but:

It can sound stronger or a bit childish (“I don’t want to go out!”).
In many contexts 我不想出去 is more natural for calmly stating you have no desire to go out.

In your sentence, 我不想出去 is the most natural and neutral choice.

In 出去, why do we need both 出 and 去? Can’t I just say 我不想出 or 我不想去?

出 and 去 together form a directional complement:

出 = “out” (movement from inside to outside)
去 = “go (away from the speaker)”

出去 therefore means “to go out (from inside to outside)”.

About the alternatives:

我不想出
This is not natural. 出 by itself usually needs an object or complement (like 出门 “go out the door”). Just 出 as a bare verb “to go out” is not used the way English uses “go out.”
我不想去
This simply means “I don’t want to go (there).”
- It does not specify going out (from indoors to outdoors).
- It’s often used when someone invites you somewhere and you decline.

So:

我不想出去。 = “I don’t want to go out (of the house / outside).”
我不想去。 = “I don’t want to go (there).”

Both are correct in different situations, but they don’t mean exactly the same thing.

Why is it 我不想出去 and not 我想不出去? Where should 不 go in a sentence like this?

The position of 不 depends on what you are negating.

In 我不想出去:

不 is placed directly before the main verb 想:
- 不想 = “do not want”
- The meaning: “I don’t want to go out.”

If you say 我想不出去, it implies:

想 + 不 + 出去 (a “potential” or “can/cannot” structure)
It would be interpreted as:
- “I am unable to manage to go out.”
- Like something prevents you (e.g., you’re locked in, or there’s too much work), not that you lack desire.

So:

我不想出去。 – I don’t want to go out. (no desire)
我想不出去。 – I can’t get out (even if I want to). (capacity / possibility issue)

For “don’t want,” always put 不 directly before the verb expressing desire: 不想, 不要, etc.

Is 今天 one word or two? Can I use 今 by itself to mean “today”?

In modern Chinese usage:

今天 functions as a single word meaning “today.”
It is written as two characters but treated as one lexical item.

The character 今 by itself is not normally used alone in everyday speech to mean “today.”

You will usually see 今 as part of fixed words like:

今天 – today
今年 – this year
今晚 – tonight

So in normal conversation, say 今天, not just 今.

How should I pronounce 不想 in real speech? Is it bù xiǎng or bú xiǎng?

In isolation, 不 is pronounced bù (fourth tone).
But in connected speech, 不 has a tone sandhi rule:

When 不 is followed by another fourth-tone syllable, it changes to second tone (bú).

想 (xiǎng) is third tone, not fourth, so by the basic rule we would expect bù xiǎng.
However, in real spoken Mandarin:

Many speakers still say bù xiǎng clearly.
In fast, natural speech, it can sound lighter, and some regional accents might slightly alter it, but it’s not a standard tone-sandhi change like with a fourth tone.

Key rules you should remember:

不
- 4th tone → bú
  - 4th tone
    - e.g. 不对 = bú duì
不
- other tones → usually stays bù
  - e.g. 不想 = bù xiǎng

So for learning purposes, pronounce it as bù xiǎng.

Can I drop any words and still sound natural? For example, is 又下雨了，不想出去 okay?

Yes, Chinese often drops pronouns and words when the meaning is clear from context.

Your full sentence:

今天又下雨了，我不想出去。

Possible natural reductions in casual speech:

又下雨了，不想出去。
- “It’s raining again, (I) don’t want to go out.”
- 我 is understood from context.
If the time is very clear from the surrounding conversation, people might even skip 今天:
- 又下雨了，我不想出去。

What you can’t generally drop:

The verb 想 or 出去; you need them to keep the meaning.
不; otherwise you flip the meaning.

So yes, 又下雨了，不想出去 is natural in the right context.

How would I express “It keeps raining / It rains again and again” using patterns related to 又 or similar structures?

To show that it rains repeatedly or continuously, you have a few options:

Repeated events (again and again):
- 又下雨了。 – “It rained again.”
  (Use this each time it starts raining again.)
- For emphasis over a period:
  - 最近老是下雨。 – “It’s always raining recently.”
  - 最近总是下雨。 – “It keeps raining lately.”
  - 这几天一直在下雨。 – “It’s been raining continuously these days.”
Stronger feeling of “over and over”:
- 怎么又下雨了？ – “How come it’s raining again?”
- 一天到晚都在下雨。 – “It rains all day long.”

又 is good for each individual “again,” but for the idea “it keeps raining” over a period, natives often prefer words like:

总是 (always),
老是 (always, often with annoyance),
一直 (continuously).