it never rains but it pours

English

Alternative forms

Proverb

it never rains but it pours

Unfortunate events occur in quantity.
Synonym: misfortunes never come singly

Coordinate terms

bad things come in threes

Translations

unfortunate events occur in quantity

Arabic: الْمَصَائِبُ لَا تَأْتِي فُرَادَى‎ (al-maṣāʾibu lā taʾtī furādā, literally “misfortunes do not come alone”)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 屋漏偏逢連夜雨 (zh), 屋漏偏逢连夜雨 (zh) (wū lòu piān féng liányè yǔ, literally “when the roof is leaking, that's when you'll get several continuous nights of rain”), 禍不單行 (zh), 祸不单行 (zh) (huòbùdānxíng, literally “disasters do not come alone”)
Czech: (vulgar) když se to sere, tak se to sere (literally “when it shits, then it shits”)
Danish: en ulykke kommer sjældent alene (literally “a misfortune seldom comes alone”)
Dutch: een ongeluk komt zelden alleen (literally “a misfortune seldom comes alone”), een ongeluk komt nooit alleen (literally “a misfortune never comes alone”)
Esperanto: malfeliĉo malofte venas sole (literally “a misfortune seldom comes alone”)
Finnish: kaikki on vastaan, vain saha puoltaa (literally “everything is against [me], only the saw pulls”)
French: un malheur ne vient jamais seul (fr) (literally “a misfortune never comes alone”)
German: ein Unglück kommt selten allein (de) (literally “a misfortune seldom comes alone”)
Hebrew: צָרוֹת בָּאוֹת בִּצְרוֹרוֹת‎ (tzarót ba'ót bi-tz'rorót, literally “misfortunes come in packages”)
Hungarian: a baj nem jár egyedül (hu) (literally “trouble does not come alone”)
Icelandic: sjaldan er ein báran stök (is) (literally “a wave seldome comes alone”), það er ýmist of eða van (is) (literally “it is either too much or too little”)
Italian: i guai non vengono mai da soli (literally “misfortunes never come alone”), piove sul bagnato (literally “it rains on the wet”), al peggio non c'è mai fine (literally “there is no ending to worse”)
Japanese: 踏んだり蹴ったり (ふんだりけったり, fundari-kettari, literally “we often tread on and we often bump off”), 泣きっ面に蜂 (ja) (なきっつらにはち, nakittsura ni hachi, literally “a wasp on a tearful face”), 弱り目に祟り目 (ja) (よわりめにたたりめ, yowari me ni tatari me, literally “in times of weakness, evil eyes”), 降れば土砂降り (ふればどしゃぶり, fureba doshaburi, literally “if it rains, it pours”)
Korean: please add this translation if you can
Lithuanian: bėda viena nevaikšto (literally “trouble does not come alone”)

Norwegian:
Bokmål: en ulykke kommer sjelden alene (no) (literally “a misfortune seldom comes alone”)

Nynorsk: ei ulykke kjem sjeldan aleine (literally “a misfortune seldom comes alone”)
Persian: please add this translation if you can
Polish: nieszczęścia chodzą parami (pl) (literally “misfortunes walk in pairs”)
Portuguese: um mal nunca vem só, uma desgraça nunca vem sozinha, uma desgraça nunca vem só (literally “a misfortune never comes alone”)
Russian: пришла́ беда́ — отворя́й воро́та (ru) (prišlá bedá — otvorjáj voróta, literally “when the trouble comes, open the gate”), беда́ одна́ не хо́дит (ru) (bedá odná ne xódit, literally “trouble does not come alone”)
Scottish Gaelic: nuair a thig air duine, thig air uile (literally “when it befalls one, it befalls all”)
Spanish: las desgracias nunca vienen solas (literally “misfortunes never come alone”), cuando llueve, diluvia (literally “when it rains, it pours”), llueve sobre mojado (literally “it rains on the wet”), si no quieres caldo, taza y media (literally “if you do not want broth, a bowl and a half”), llueve sobre mojado, a perro flaco, todo son pulgas, ¿No querías caldo? ¡Pues toma dos tazas!, si no quieres caldo, taza y media
Swahili: please add this translation if you can
Swedish: en olycka kommer sällan ensam (literally “a misfortune seldom comes alone”), när det regnar så öser det ner (literally “when it rains, it pours”)
Thai: ความวัวไม่ทันหาย ความควายเข้ามาแทรก (th) (kwaam-wuua-mâi-tan-hǎai kwaam-kwaai-kâo-maa-sɛ̂ɛk, literally “the condition of cows does not yet cease, the condition of buffaloes comes in to join”)
Ukrainian: бі́да ні́коли сама́ не хо́дить (bída níkoly samá ne xódytʹ, literally “trouble does not come alone”)
Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
Walloon: on måleur ni vént måy tot seu (wa) (literally “a misfortune never comes alone”)
Yiddish: please add this translation if you can

References

Gregory Y. Titelman (1996) Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, →ISBN, page 172

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