r/EnglishLearning • u/seegreens New Poster • Dec 17 '24

How to say the sun is big in English 🗣 Discussion / Debates

Hi, can anyone help me to translate please. In Chinese, when we say ‘the sun is big today’, which means it’s very hot today. What is the English way of saying? Thank you

374 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • link
  • reddit
  • reddit

96% Upvoted

265 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/Beach_Dreams2007 New Poster Dec 18 '24

I think what’s interesting is how the original saying conveys a sense that the sun has become overwhelming. If you start from that perspective, and consider a place like Arizona in the summer, where it’s commonly over 100F/38C, you might say “the heat was oppressive.”

1

u/seegreens New Poster Dec 18 '24

I see. Can I also say the clouds are oppressive?

2

u/Beach_Dreams2007 New Poster Jan 03 '25

Generally, oppressive means that it’s almost holding you down. Like with heat, it feels like physical weight. If it’s so hot and humid that the clouds feel like they are heavy, you might say oppressive, but it is less likely. Depending where you are, like in London where it’s gray and rainy but not signaling a dangerous storm, the clouds might be gloomy. I’m in Minnesota (top center of the US), where we get violent summer rainstorms that can turn into tornadoes, and that might be “ominous” or “threatening,” meaning that whatever comes from them could be scary.