Chinese character for thunder: 雷 (léi)

The Chinese character for thunder is 雷 (léi). It means thunder and appears in 打雷 (dǎ léi, to thunder) and 雷电 (léidiàn, thunder and lightning). It is a symbol of power in Chinese myth.

How 雷 is built

雷 has the rain radical 雨 on top and 田 below. 田 looks like a field, but in ancient forms it showed rolling drums or wheels, the sound of thunder rumbling across the sky. As a memory aid, you can also picture a storm over the fields. The character is the same in simplified and traditional Chinese.

雷 léi · thunder

• 雨yǔ — rain
  • 帀zā — to rotate
    • 一 — horizontal stroke
    • 巾jīn — cloth
• 田tián — field
  • 冂 — frame
    • 丨 — vertical stroke
  • 土tǔ — earth
    • 十 — ten
    • 一 — horizontal stroke

Origin hint: A storm 雨 over the fields 田 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

How 雷 is used

Before you use it as a tattoo or design: 雷 is identical in both scripts; it is a bold, symmetrical character that works well in large designs.

Questions

Related

• 雨rain
• 云cloud
• 风wind
• 龙dragon
• 力strength

Full page for 雷 › All characters for words