雷

léi
HSK 5
#685 most
frequent character
thunder, (internet slang) terrifying
noun
adjective

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

雷 first meant the sound after lightning, thunder. 雨 rain is the picture part. 田 now stands for older 畾 léi, which supplied the sound. The sense grew to 'loud sound' and then 'landmine'.

雷 as a component in other characters

sound3 characters
蕾擂镭
picture1 character
檑

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Example Sentences

昨晚的雷声很大。
zuówǎn de léishēng hěndà 。
The thunder last night was very loud.
他的表演真是太雷了！
tāde biǎoyǎn zhēnshì tài léi le ！
His performance was really terrific!
我们在雷暴中赶回家，很紧张。
wǒmen zài léi bào zhōng gǎn huíjiā ， hěn jǐnzhāng 。
We hurried home during the thunderstorm, it was very tense.

Words with similar meanings

轰隆hōnglóng
rumble
轰隆 suggests a deep, continuous sound, often used to describe thunder but can also refer to other loud noises.
惊人jīngrén
amazing
惊人 emphasizes the aspect of being startling or surprising, closely related to the usage of 'terrific' in a positive context.

Homophones

累léi
rope, to bind together, to twist around

Words Starting With 雷

雷达léi dá
radar (loanword)

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Public Lists with 雷

Weather & Climate
Describing temperature, precipitation, seasons, forecasts, and related terms.
Advanced HSK5 Terms
Vocabulary commonly seen in HSK5 practice, bridging mid-high level usage.
Internet Slang
Contemporary Chinese online expressions, abbreviations, and memes.
HSK 5
All words for the HSK 5 test