我們正要離開的時候下雨了。

We were just about to leave when it started to rain.

We were just about to leave when it started raining.

Source: Tatoeba

Sentence Composition

1 我們 wǒmen we; us; ourselves; our
2 正要 zhèngyào
  1. to be just about to
  2. to be on the point of
3 離開 líkāi to depart; to leave
=4 的 de
  1. of; ~'s (possessive particle)
  2. (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun)
  3. (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis)
  4. (used after a noun, verb or adjective to form a nominal expression, as in 皮革的 pígéde "one made of leather" or 跑堂儿的 pǎotángrde "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的 xīnde "new one")
  5. also pr. dì or di in poetry and songs
=4 的 dī a taxi; a cab (abbr. for 的士 dīshì)
=4 的 dí really and truly
=4 的 dì (bound form) bull's-eye; target
5 時候 shíhou
  1. time
  2. length of time
  3. moment
  4. period
6 下雨了 xiàyǔle It’s raining.