Hoy el autobús va con retraso por la lluvia.

Hoy means today. It is placed at the beginning to set the time right away: Today, the bus...

Spanish often puts time expressions near the start of the sentence, but it is flexible. You could also say:

El autobús hoy va con retraso por la lluvia.

That is less neutral and gives a slightly different emphasis. The original version sounds very natural.

In Spanish, it is very common to use the definite article with nouns when talking about a specific thing or a general service in context. So el autobús means the bus.

In English, we sometimes drop the article in similar situations, but Spanish usually keeps it.

Here, el autobús most naturally means:

• the bus we are talking about
• the bus service relevant in the situation

Autobús has a written accent because the stress falls on the last syllable: au-to-BÚS.

Without the accent, Spanish spelling rules would suggest a different stress pattern. The accent mark shows the correct pronunciation clearly.

Its plural is autobuses, with no written accent:

• singular: autobús
• plural: autobuses

Yes, va is the él/ella/usted form of ir (to go). Literally, va con retraso is something like goes with delay.

But in natural English, you would usually translate it as:

• is running late
• is delayed
• is behind schedule

This is a very normal way to talk about transport in Spanish. So even though va literally means goes, the whole expression should be understood together.

Both are possible, but va con retraso is a very common and idiomatic way to talk about buses, trains, and similar transport.

• va con retraso = it is running late / it is delayed
• está retrasado = it is delayed

The version with va often sounds especially natural for something that is in service or in motion, such as transport.

For example:

• El tren va con retraso.
• El vuelo lleva retraso.

So the sentence uses a very typical transport-related expression.

Con means with, and retraso means delay. So literally it means with delay.

As a fixed expression, ir con retraso means:

• to be delayed
• to be running late
• to be behind schedule

You can also use retraso in other contexts:

• Hay un retraso de diez minutos. = There is a ten-minute delay.
• El proyecto va con retraso. = The project is behind schedule.

Por here means because of. So por la lluvia = because of the rain.

It gives the cause of the delay.

Other natural options include:

• debido a la lluvia = due to the rain
• a causa de la lluvia = because of the rain

But por la lluvia is simple, common, and very natural.

Because porque normally introduces a full clause, while por can be followed by a noun.

Here we have:

• la lluvia = a noun phrase

So:

• por la lluvia = because of the rain

If you wanted to use porque, you would normally need a verb after it, for example:

• ... porque está lloviendo. = ... because it is raining.

So:

• por + noun
• porque + clause

Yes. In Spain, autobús is a standard and very common word for bus.

You may also hear:

• bus, especially in informal speech or signs
• autocar, which usually means a coach or long-distance bus, not a city bus

So in this sentence, autobús is completely normal for Spanish from Spain.

Yes, that is grammatically correct and natural.

The difference is mainly style:

• va con retraso sounds very idiomatic for transport and schedules
• está retrasado is also clear and common, but slightly more straightforward

Both can mean essentially the same thing here:

• Hoy el autobús va con retraso por la lluvia.
• Hoy el autobús está retrasado por la lluvia.

The original version sounds especially typical in announcements or everyday transport-related Spanish.

The structure is:

• Hoy = time expression
• el autobús = subject
• va = verb
• con retraso = expression describing the delay
• por la lluvia = cause

So the pattern is roughly:

Today + the bus + is running late + because of the rain

Spanish word order is flexible, but this version is very natural and easy to understand. It presents the information in a clear order:

1. when
2. what
3. what is happening
4. why